Ducks Fly Together
by JaneeDohh
Summary: This story shows the Ducks as they make there way through the ups and downs of their Senior Year in high school. Read from the point of view of Charlie Conway's twin sister Darcy. I KNOW IT SOUNDS CLICHE BUT WHO DOESNT LOVE A GOOD CLICHE. Please read!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! First of all, I want to apologize for the laaaame title. So done. I'm trying to think of something better, and I will try to change it ASAP! I have never written a fanfic before but I love to read them. I wrote this one because I'm personally always fiending for a good Mighty Ducks story, and the fandom is kinda dying... so most likely this is just for my own enjoyment. My OC is a liiiiiittle bit Mary Sue right now, but hopefully as time passes she'll get more believable? It's way easier said then done though so we will see! Please review and tell me what you think! I do appreciate criticism as well. :) Disclaimer: I do not own Mighty Ducks! Disney does. I own who ever you do not recognize.**

"Darcy! Are you ready to go yet?"

I looked around my small room one more time before yelling down to my brother, "Yeah! Just a second!"

It was the first day of school. Well, not really. We don't start school school until tomorrow. But today was the day that we were moving in to our dorms. And its not just any move in day! Today is our very last move-in day at Eden Hall Academy!

I sat down on my bed, looking around at all the things that I would be leaving behind, and just thinking about it. Seniors. We were finally seniors! If I'm being honest with myself, I have no idea where these years have gone. It seems like just yesterday we were little ducks thrown into the giant scary pond that was Eden Hall.

I suppose I should give some background about myself. My name is Darcy Juliet Conway, twin sister to the notorious "Captain Duck" Charlie Conway. We live in an apartment in Minneapolis with our mother, Casey, our really cool stepdad, Mark, their new baby boy, Sam, and Mark's son, Luke.

Charlie and I were both part of the Minnesota Mighty Ducks in peewees, as well as Team USA for the Junior Goodwill Games. At Eden Hall, our team earned the title of National JV Champions for two years and third place in the National Varsity Championship. This year, we are determined to win the National Varsity title.

I looked in the mirror again, quadruple checking my outfit to make sure I had it just right. I know it was just move-in day, but I had to make a good impression! It was early September, which means that it was still pretty warm in Minneapolis. I opted for a white crocheted tank top with a black bra, my denim short-shorts, and a pair of brown leather sandals, which showed off my summer tan and hockey-toned physique.

That was the one thing about Eden Hall. Absolutely NO ONE has good style. Everyone looks like they were dressed by preppy mothers. Not that I didn't like Eden Hall, or the people in it. I actually had really come to love it over the past few years. Sure, it had its snobs. But that doesn't matter. We were Seniors now. The Ducks had slowly become the most popular kids in school, ever since we beat Varsity in our Freshman year. I mean, what's not to love? The Ducks are friendly, funny, charismatic... We were going to RULE the school this year.

Charlie came bounding up the stairs, caught one look at me staring at myself in the mirror, and rolled his eyes. "I swear, if you're not downstairs in five seconds I'm going to throw you over my shoulder and carry you down."

I ignored his comment and looked at him with a smile on my face. "Charlie... this is our senior year. Oh my god. We're seniors!"

Charlie rolled his eyes again. "You've been saying that for the last month. We're not gonna be seniors if we never get there though! Come on we're already 30 minutes late for check-in!"

"All right, I'm coming. Grab this bag for me, yeah?"

"Whatever, little princess."

I stuck my tongue out at him and ran down the stairs. I really was so excited for this year to start. Almost-number one hockey team in the nation, 4.0 GPA, amazing family and friends, and the best boyfriend in the whole world? How could this NOT be the best year ever?

Oh did I forget to mention my boyfriend? That would be Adam Banks. Adam Banks. Just thinking about him made my knees weak. We've been going out for almost three years now. We've both been into each other since peewees, but it never fell perfectly into place until our second year at Eden Hall. We definitely blow Connie and Guy out of the water for best and cutest couple, but don't you dare let Connie hear that I think that.

I gave my stepdad a hug on the front porch. "Bye Mark! See you in a few weeks."

"Have a great year, honey. Study hard, but make sure you have a lot of fun too. It is your senior year after all," he said with a wink as he gave me a kiss on the head.

"Thanks Mark! Let me hold Sammy before we leave! Don't get too big on me while I'm gone, little bear," I said as I nuzzled him on the cheek.

"Bye Luke! See you at the Blake game, when our team will hand your team your asses on a silver platter!" Luke plays for the Blake Bears, one of our biggest rivals in the area.

"Oh it is going to be so on!" He replied with a smile and a hug. I climbed into the backseat of the car as Charlie finished loading all of my bags into the trunk. I watched as Mark gave my mom a quick peck goodbye, and shook Charlie's hand.

"We'll see you guys soon, at the first game next weekend!" Mark called as the car began to drive away.

"Well, how does it feel? My little babies are growing up!" my mom said with tears in her eyes. "I can't believe you two are already going to graduate high school!"

"Chill Mom, we haven't even moved in yet. Can we save the tears for the end of the day?" Charlie replied. "I just want to hurry up and get there. This is the first time all of the Ducks have been together since the end of last year!"

Of course, we've all kept in touch. But this summer was pretty hard for the Ducks. With everyone going on vacations with their families, going back to their hometowns, and going on college tours, it was impossible to organize an entire group outing. And trust me, Connie Moreau, Queen of Planning, tried her very best to make it happen. It was going to feel so good to be reunited with the whole gang again!

Not to mention Adam has been on vacation with his family for two weeks, and his flight got in late last night so I wasn't able to meet him at the airport. So, yeah. I kinda miss him, to say the least.

As my mom pulled into the Eden Hall parking lot, I began to get a little nervous. Connie, Julie and I had decided that this year, we were all going to randomize our roommates, rather than living together in a triple like we have the past two years. It seemed like a really good idea! I never really thought about the fact that I could get some total weirdo who is anti-social and performs seances using strands of my hair as sacrifice... Oh god I hope not.

"Here we are! Am I allowed to start crying yet, Charlie?" my mom said jokingly.

Charlie, however, was already out of the car. He had just spotted the Bash Brothers Fulton Reed and Dean Portman standing to the left of the check-in desk. None of the guys knew who they were rooming with yet either, but Eden usually tends to group sports teams together so none of them were too worried.

I ran over to catch up with them-I mean its been two moths since I've seen Portman!

"Hey Dean!" I yelled, running over and giving him a gigantic bear hug. "I missed you!"

He squeezed me back, effectively leaving my lungs airless. "I missed you too, DJ!" he said with a laugh.

After he released me, I turned to the man by his side. "Don't think I forgot about you, Fulton! Good to see you too!"

"I know, Darce, jeez, whats it been, a day? We've really got to get together more often!" Fulton jokingly replied. He has been the one constant throughout the summer, since neither one of our families went on any trips.

"Where is everyone else? Already got their assignments? Who are you guys rooming with?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, Julie, Kenny, Dwayne, Luis, and Russ all made it in safe. I think they're all with their parents, wanting to get in as much time as they can before they have to leave. My mom just left, her flight was pretty early this afternoon," Portman said. "And as for everyone else, they should be around here somewhere. They were here just a few minutes ago!"

Right as he said that, I heard a shout from behind me. I turned around and saw most of the team coming over from the dining center. They better not have been eating without me!

There they were: my ducks. All of them. The out-of-state ducks must have already bid their parents farewell, or like mine were checking them in. It felt really good to have us all back in one place again. We've all been through so much together, that we're pretty much a family now. Friends don't get much better than ours. Charlie, Dean, and Fulton started to walk towards them, with me bringing up the rear.

And there he was. In all his six foot one, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, muscular (but not TOO muscular) glory. Adam Banks. _My_ boyfriend. Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky. He is too good to be true. Smart, funny, athletic, incredibly good looking... I just don't even know. He spotted me, and was making his way toward me with a huge smile on his face. Did I mention he has a great smile? Because he does. He has an amazing smile.

I couldn't wait anymore. I ran up to him and jumped into his arms. Has it really only been two weeks? It feels like two years! He was holding me so tight I thought I was going to explode, and yet he wasn't holding me tight enough. And finally, after two agonizing weeks, he put his lips on mine in a soft but passionate kiss.

"Hi," I said when we finally broke for air.

"Hi," he replied with a smile. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," I smiled back at him.

"Well now that THAT little reunion is over, can the rest of us say hello?" Les Averman, the team funny-man and one of the original Ducks, said with a laugh.

"Aww, Ave, you know there's enough of me to go around!" Adam said, causing everyone to laugh.

"Yeah, yeah all right Cake Eater come here!" Averman grabbed Adam in a man hug, resulting in everyone laughing even more.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Now hands off my boyfriend!" I said with a big laugh, giving Adam another quick kiss on the lips, before I began to make my rounds around the group, giving everyone hugs and catching up.

"You guys never answered my question earlier! Who is everyone rooming with?" Charlie asked, addressing the group at large. "We still haven't gotten our room assignments yet, so we don't know."

"Well, its your lucky day, Captain Duck! Looks like we're roomies!" exclaimed Greg Goldberg, the goalie turned defenseman.

"Oh sweet!" said Charlie. "I was starting to get worried about who I would be with. Well, who is everyone else with?"

Adam, who was now standing with his arm around my shoulders, spoke up. "I'm gonna be rooming with Portman."

"Me, Dwayne, and Averman got a triple," said ex-figure skater Kenny Wu.

"Fulton and Russ are together, and me and Luis," said Guy Germaine, the long time boyfriend to my best girlfriend Connie.

"And what about you two? Have you met your roommates yet?" I asked my best friends Connie and Julie "the Cat" Gaffney.

"I just met mine. She seems nice enough... she was in the process of hanging up like 80 Twilight posters though, so this could be a problem," Connie said with a grimace. "I hope I didn't just get some squealing fangirl for a roommate."

"Oh god. Thank goodness that wasn't me!" Julie replied. "I met mine too. I had English class with her last year. She was really quiet, but she seems okay though."

"Well, I really want to meet them both! They're going to be seeing lots of me since I will be nearly a constant presence in your closets." I laughed. "Come on, can I go meet mine now?"

I pulled Adam with me by the hand, glad to finally have a minute alone, even if it was just the walk over to my mom. We walked up to where my mom was waiting close to the front of the line.

"Oh good, you guys wait here. Charlie and I will start unloading the stuff from the car," my mom said. "And its good to see you Adam! How was your trip?"

"It was great, Casey, thanks for asking," Adam answered with a smile. As my mom walked away, he whispered in my ear, "And I have a present for you. From Italy. But it can wait for tonight when we're alone."

I said nothing but smiled in reply. It was our turn in line. "Hi, I'm Darcy Juliet Conway." They handed me my room key, mail key, living contract, and a slip that had my room number and roommates name. I said thank you and walked off to the side where I could examine the slip more closely.

"Burk Hall, room 322. And my roommate's name is Jacqueline McEmerly. Hmm. Not much to go off of... I don't think I've ever met her before... Maybe she's a new student? I guess we'll see," I said to Adam. "What building are you in?"

"Thorton. Same as last year. I'm on the second floor. I'm pretty sure everyone on the team is either in Burk or Thorton, which are right next door, except Dwayne, Ken, and Averman, their room is in Woodrow since its a triple."

"Are you all moved in already? Shall we go see my room now?"

"Yeah, I haven't started unpacking yet but we'll bring all your stuff up and see your place before I go back to mine."

We walked over to my mom's car and gathered all my stuff. "Well, you don't need me to help you move in. Don't forget to call, and I'll see you in a few weeks! I love you both so much. Don't get into any trouble and keep up with your schoolwork!" My mom said all of this as she was giving us hugs and kisses goodbye.

"Love you, Mom," Charlie said giving her a hug.

"Remember, home is just a bus ride away!" she said as she was driving away. "Have a great term!"

After her mother had driven off, Charlie, Adam, and I began to load all of my stuff into one of those giant baskets on wheels. Once it was all in, Adam and I helped Charlie before making our way to Burk Hall, where Charlie would also be living. "Thank god we aren't on the same floor," I said to Charlie with a sigh. "It seems I can never completely get rid of you."

"Ha ha, you are sooo funny," he replied, grabbing me and giving me a nuggie, just as the elevator was stopping on the third floor. "Well I'm gonna head up to my room, it's on the fourth. I'll come check out yours in a little bit."

I looked up and down the hallway. Pretty much all of the doors were open, and the sounds of moving in were pouring out of them. As I walked down the hall to my room, I paused and greeted the people that I knew from classes and stuff. I smiled to myself. I know this is getting redundant, but this year was going to be AMAZING. At one door, I stopped and looked in, only to find myself face-to-face with my best friend, Connie Moreau.

"No way! We're on the same floor? Yay this is going to be amazing!" I exclaimed happily. "Where is Jules living? Are there any other Ducks on this floor?"

"Oh my god yes! Now I don't have to walk very far when I need to borrow something!" Connie replied with a laugh and a hug to her best friend. "Julie is on the fourth floor, so that's not too bad. That's where Goldie and Cap's room is too so she won't be too lonely. And Fulton and Russ are on this floor, but they are all the way down at the other end. We'll have to go check it out later."

"Yes! What about Guy?"

"He's all the way on the sixth floor of Thorton. So far! He can make the trek over here, because most likely I am NOT going to be down to walk all the way over there," Connie said, semi-jokingly.

"Adam's in Thorton, too. What a pain," I said, elbowing Adam in the ribs and laughing. "Well, we have to go put all this crap in my room. Is your roommate around? I want to meet her!"

"No, she's saying goodbye to her parents. How about when she comes back up we'll head over to see your room?"

"Sounds perfect," I said, smiling. "Let's go! See ya, Con!"

We continued down the hall just a little further, before stopping in front of a door. "Well, this is it. My home for the next year. I don't know why I'm nervous."

"Darce, just open it," Adam said, laughing at me.

I stuck my tongue out at him before putting the key in the lock and opening the door. The first thing I noticed was that it was empty. I sighed in disappointment. Who knew how long I had to wait to meet her now?

"It's okay, DJ! She will be here eventually," Adam said, giving me a hug and a kiss on the head. I squeezed him back, and kissed him on the shoulder, which was right at my face height.

"I know," I said. "I'm just looking forward to it!" I broke away from Adam and actually looked around the room. It was pretty standard, two beds, two desks, two closets... "Since I'm here first I get to choose the bed first, right? She's not allowed to be mad?"

"I believe that that is how things work, yes. Unless she's a psycho bitch."

"Thanks, Adam. That made me feel loads better." I said, dramatically rolling my eyes, before grabbing him in a tight hug again. "What would I do without you?"

"Nothing," he said with a laugh. "Now which one of these is going to be your bed? I think we have a little catching up to do..."

**A/N: Okay, this is chapter one! Tell me if you think I should continue or not. It's a little scattered right now, but I do have some ideas for the story line so I might just continue it for my own enjoyment. If you made it all the way to the bottom, thank you! XOXO, JaneeDohh 3**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello again, everyone! ...if anyone is there haha :p Here is the second chapter! Really quick I would like to say thank you times a million trillion to my first (and only) reviewer DeeJeezy! You made my night :-* Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except a few characters that weren't in the movies. But pretty much nothing. You know how it is ;)**

I looked at Adam and laughed before turning to the bed on the left. "This one," I said, pointing at it. "Now come here."

He grabbed me and pushed me back onto the bed, kissing me intensely. "Don't you think we should make the bed first?" I said laughing, out of breath. "And we shouldn't do this now. I don't want to be in a compromising position the first time I meet my roommate. Then she'll think I'm some gross nympho and she's never going to like me!"

Adam laughed. "As if it would even be possible for her to not like you," he said, kissing me again. "But, I understand. We should at least meet the poor girl before we defile her bedroom."

"Have I mentioned lately that I love you?" I asked, smiling and looking straight into his eyes.

"Hmm, well it has been a while..." he joked. "I love you, too, Darce."

Mmmm. Adam. He and I had been each other's first... He wasn't my first kiss, but other than that, first everything. Sometimes I couldn't even believe how much I love him. But, I guess that's what happens when two people are so perfect for each other.

Just then, someone pounded on the door. "Darcy? Are you in there? Open this door right this minute, young lady!" It was Connie. I stood up, straightened my clothes, smoothed Adam's hair a little, and opened the door.

"Sorry! The door must have fell shut," I said sheepishly, before propping it open.

"I'm suuuure that that is exactly what happened," she replied with an accusatory glance at Adam. "Better not be getting fresh, Cake Eater."

Adam laughed again, not thinking about the use of the nickname he used to hate. He was so used to it by now. "Well, I'm thinking that it's time for me to head over to my room. I've got some unpacking to do as well, you know."

I pouted. "Okay, I guess you can go. How about I'll come visit you over there after I make some headway in this?"

"Sounds good. And we can go for a walk or something," he replied. He gave me another quick kiss on the lips, before heading to the door. "See ya later, Con!"

"Bye, Banksie," she said. "Okay. My roommate will be here in a sec. I told her to come over. Speaking of which... where's yours?"

"I don't know! She's not here! I just want to meet her already," I replied frustratedly. "Call Cat! We need to have a catch-up sesh. It's been a while since we were all together." Julie flew down once in the middle of summer and stayed with Connie's family, but since then I hadn't gotten a chance to see her.

"Okay! I think she said she had something important to tell us... hopefully involving a certain enforcer?" Connie said excitedly. Connie and I have been trying to get Julie and Portman together for ages. They're so perfect for each other, but apparently only everyone EXCEPT Julie can see that. She was so stubborn.

"Hmm well they did seem to be chatting awfully close earlier... do you think she would do that and not tell us?"

"Well it's been sooo almost a thing for so long... I hope that that's her secret!" Connie exclaimed. Just then there was a knock on the open door and I saw a tall, red-haired girl standing in the doorway. She was wearing khaki slacks, a pink sweater set, and Mary Jane's. Who ever this girl was, she was in serious need of a makeover.

"Hey, I'm Sara. Connie's roommate. Nice to meet you!" She said friendlily.

I put down the pillow I had been dressing-the finishing touches of making my bed- and shook her hand. "I'm Darcy. It's so nice to meet you, too!" I looked towards my freshly made bed. "Well, this is done. Now I have to begin the impossible task that will be unpacking all of my clothes. Remember how hard it was to get it all home, Con? I think I need to stop shopping."

"I'll help you out, girl. Plus I want to see all the news clothes you have," Connie said. "...so I can steal them all."

I laughed. "Maybe I should just do this on my own..."

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," she said, "I think everyone wanted to meet up right now, though. Guy just texted me and said to meet at the Duck Blind." The Duck Blind was one of the coffee shops on campus. Over the past few years it became the official hang out spot for the Ducks when we aren't in school. "Do you wanna? We can unpack more later and we'll have a lady-Duck catch-up."

"Yeah, that sounds amazing right now, actually," I said. "Are you coming Sara?" I asked Connie's roommate.

"No, I think I'm gonna have a few friends over to our room to hang out, if that's cool with you, Connie," Sara replied with a smile. "Thanks for the invite though. Maybe some other time?"

"Of course! Come over whenever, maybe we can get to know each other a little better," I said with a smile. "Bye!"

"Let's go, I think everyone's already there," Connie said.

"Yep, Adam just texted me to hurry," I said. "Looks like my roommate won't be coming for a while..."

"She'll be here eventually, Darce, don't worry about it," said Connie, looping her arm with mine as we left the room.

"What if I don't have a roommate? I didn't even think about that. That would be worse than anything," I said. "Speaking of, Sara seems nice! What do you think?"

"Yeah, she's nice. I just don't really think we're going to be very good friends. I don't think we have one thing in common."

"Well, maybe someday we will dress her up and take her out. She has so much untapped potential," I said, daydreaming about what I could do to her. "Now THAT would be fun."

We walked into the coffee shop and saw all the Ducks sitting together in the back, our usual spot. We were a giant cluster, made up of squishy antique chairs, pillows, and tables and hard chairs. This was the spot we had adopted in the middle of our Sophomore year. It was pretty much a given that throughout any point in the day, you could almost always find a Duck here if you needed one.

I squished down next to Julie in one of the huge armchairs, while Connie went and sat at one of the little tables with Guy. Adam, who was sitting on a pillow on the ground, scooted over so he was right by my feet. Charlie was sitting at the front of the group, in another big chair.

"Okay, everyone's here now, right? Coach Orion wanted me to make sure you all knew one thing," Charlie announced to the group. It really was no wonder he was Captain. No one could control us all like he could. "Our first practice is tomorrow after school. The difference is that this year hockey will be on our schedules as our last class. So, pretty much all that means is that practice will start at 2, rather than at 3. Does everyone understand? When you get your schedules tomorrow thats the first thing you should check for. Seventh period hockey. Okay. Converse amongst yourselves."

Seventh period hockey? Damn. We used to have a seventh unscheduled, so we would have a break after school before hockey practice started. I mean, I guess it's a good thing, now we won't be getting out of practice as late so we'll have more time for homework and stuff.

"Hey, I'm gonna go get a coffee, do you want anything?" Adam asked me.

"A passion iced tea with peach, please," I said, reaching for my purse.

"Stop," Adam said, giving me a stern look. He _always_pays for me. Did I mention I have the best boyfriend ever?

"Are you sure? Thanks, honey," I said, giving him a quick peck.

As he walked away, Julie laid her head on my shoulder. "Where do I get one of those?" She said, with a joking glance at Adam standing in line.

"Well, you know, there is a fully available Bash Brother sitting not to far away, all it would take is one tiny move from you..." I replied, sending a significant glance at Portman, who was chatting with Dwayne and Kenny across the cluster.

"I'm just... scared," Julie whispered.

I looked at her. Julie Gaffney? The Cat? One of the best goalies of her age in the country? _Scared?_Scared of going for a guy? This was unheard of. Maybe, just maybe we were finally getting somewhere.

"Jules, he's crazy about you! He has been! For years! What is there to be scared of?" I questioned, turning to my one of my very best friends to look her in the eye.

"I just... I just really don't want to be hurt again," she replied with a sad look on her face. "I mean, what happened with Scooter..."

I understood now. Even though it was over a year ago, Julie was still hurting over her ex-boyfriend Scooter. They started going out our freshman year, but he broke it off after two years when he headed off to college. Obviously, a break up like that isn't one that you'll forget.

"Julie Marie Gaffney. You are sooo much better than that. Scooter was an idiot and a jerk. You are a beautiful, amazing person and any guy would be lucky to have you! Especially Portman. Look at the way he looks at you! And I see the way you look at him. You're one of my best friends. All I want is for you to be happy."

Just then, Adam came back with the drinks. Peerrrfect timing. And yes, that was sarcasm. We were just about to get somewhere. I shot him a look, but he must have missed it. "Hey guys!" he said, ever so cheerful. "What'd I miss?"

"Excuse me for a sec," Julie said. She looked like she was about to cry as she rushed from the room.

"Dang it, Adam!" I said. "I should probably go after her, hold on a second-"

"No, it's okay, DJ, I got it," Portman said, coming out of nowhere and surprising me. "I'll go find her." With that he left, rushing off the same way that Julie had just gone.

"Actually, I probably couldn't have planned that better myself!" I said, turning back to Adam and grabbing my drink from his hand. "Thanks babe!" He was still standing there with a confused look on his face.

"Umm... okay, well I missed something," he said, sitting down in the seat that Julie had just vacated.

"Cat and Portman. I bet you anything they're in a relationship by the end of this week, if not by the end of today!" I said, snuggling into his shoulder. "And actually, it might have to do with the fact that you're the best boyfriend ever and everyone wants one just like you." I looked up and smiled at him, then took a sip of my drink. "How's the unpacking going?"

"Good!" he said. "Almost done. And you?"

"Uhhh, well, my bed is made!" I said sheepishly.

He laughed, then leaned down and kissed my nose. "Well, that's a start!"

Right then, an all-too familiar voice came from behind us. "Hey, Adam," she said, in what was obviously supposed to be a sexy voice. "Oh, hi, Darcy." As if she didn't see me here. I was practically in his lap. What a skank.

It was Rebecca Thompson. She has been trying to steal Adam from me ever since Freshman year, and it was seriously old by now.

I knew when I started dating Adam that it was going to be hard, because he's, to put it in basic terms, gorgeous. I knew that tons of other girls in the school would love to go out with him. And at first I did get a lot of dirty looks from girls who wished they could be in my shoes. But, seriously, it's been three years. Obviously we aren't breaking up anytime soon. Everyone else has pretty much accepted that. Except Rebecca Thompson. She is still doing everything in her power to break us up. As if Adam would want her anyway. But I would never give her that satisfaction.

"What do you want, Thompson?" I said angrily. It took a lot to get me really angry. However Rebecca Thompson could do it in five seconds flat.

"I'm just in here to get some coffee, chill out Conway," she said, with a little smirk on her face. "How was your summer, Adam?" she purred. "You look great."

"Oh, um, it was good, thanks," he said.

"That's awesome," she replied, way too enthusiastically for the emotionless answer he gave. "Well, I'll probably see you guys in class tomorrow, odds are we'll have one or two together!"

Once she was out of sight, I released the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. "Ugh. I have no idea what it is about that girl. She gets under my skin."

"That's because you let her. She has nothing on you," Adam, always the sweetheart, replied. "I love you. That girl will never mean anything to me. You mean everything to me."

Awww. This chair must possess some sort of magic power; you have to have an intense conversation with the person you were sitting with? I smiled up at him. "I love you so much. You always know just what to say." He hugged me tighter.

After we broke apart a little bit, I looked around. We had been so involved in our little world that I didn't even notice that about half the group was gone. "Where did everyone go?" I asked Charlie.

"Well, I think everyone was feeling a little nauseous after watching your little exchange over there..." he replied, pretending to be sick.

"Ha ha. You are so funny. Seriously though."

"Just kidding, Darce, sheesh. I think everyone just wants to finish unpacking."

"I really probably should too. It sounds pretty miserable right now though," I said, frowning and hiding my face in Adam's shoulder.

I stood up and shot Adam a hopeful expression. "Help me?" I said, in the most angelic voice I could muster.

He groaned. "Help you put all your clothes away? As exciting as that sounds..." I pouted. "Fine!" he said. "But you have to come with me to my room first. I need to get my laptop if I'm going to be there for a while."

"Okay!" I said happily. "Bye everyone! See you tomorrow!"

Everyone chorused their goodbyes, Connie and Charlie both saying they would drop by my room later. Adam and I walked to his room, hand in hand. "I figure if my roommate isn't here by the time we get there, then she probably isn't coming tonight." I said as we reached Adam's room.

"Maybe not. She'll be here by tomorrow though, I'm sure of it." He said as he took his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

"I sure hope s-oh my god!"

It was Portman and Jules! On his bed! Making out as if they never needed to breathe again! Of course we chose this most inopportune moment to interrupt. It looks like they were just about to do the nasty!

Adam and I stood there frozen for a moment. At my shout Julie and Portman looked up, screamed, and hurried to get into a less compromising position. "We're so sorry!" I said. "Continue! Forget we were here! Jules, you better come by my room later! Again, so sorry!"

Adam ran in without looking at them, grabbed his laptop off his desk, and hurried out the door with a quick "sorry!" aimed their way. We shut the door and looked at each other. I must say, Adam looked a little scarred.

I tried to hold in my laugh, but one look at Adam's face and it all spilled out. "Oh my god, your face!" I said. "I can't believe it! I'm so happy for them! I have to tell Connie!"

"Oh my god. I so was not expecting that," he said, still looking a little dazed. "I guess me and Port are gonna have to work out some kind of system, to prevent more happenings like this one." Adam looked at me again and let out a laugh. "I guess that was pretty funny."

"So, does this mean I get you for the whole evening? You can't go back there anytime soon," I said with a mischievous smirk.

"Very true," he said, wrapping his arm back around my waist.

We made it to my door. I slowly took out my key, put it in the hole, and turned. I paused before pushing the door open, only to see that the room was... empty. Once again. How anticlimactic.

"Well, I'm assuming that this means I get the room to myself for the night. Get off the bed, Banks," I said in a mock-strict voice, throwing a dress at his face. "We've got work to do."

**A/N: Hip hip hooray! Another chapter down! Tell me what you think! Pleeease it would make my life so much more enjoyable. Cuz then I would know that I'm not some weirdo who sits in my room and just writes stories that no one will ever read. I would even appreciate a ":(" or perhaps even a "u suk." I already decided that I'm going to keep writing this story. Soo... if you like it... keep reading. Well, dats enuff o dis. Love you! ~*kiss*~ JaneeDohh**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi everyone! Oh my goodness, I apologize for how long this chapter to take. I was having total writers block, and then when I was finally hit with inspiration, I had a million finals to do. Anyways, I personally like this chapter and I'm excited to have everyone read it. I've already started writing the next chapter, so it should be up extremely soon. Thanks a miiiiiiillion to my lovely reviewers, Ealasaid Una, Crystal, and runawaycherry93! You guys are the best :-* Enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks! Or anything else in this story that you recognize. But my OCs are all mine!**

When I woke up, I had no idea where I was. It took a few seconds before I remembered that it was the first day of school and I was in my dorm. I turned my head to look at the clock, which was still ringing. 6:45. Ugh. I had to be in home room by eight o'clock, so if I wanted breakfast I was going to have to hurry.

I looked to my right. That side of the room was still completely empty. I couldn't believe it! Where was this girl? I turned back to my own side. I finished unpacking almost everything last night, except for finishing touches like pictures and decorations. Adam had stayed until about one in the morning, when we decided that it would probably be safe for him to return to his own room.

I lugged myself out of bed and ran down the hall to take a quick shower. I had chosen the perfect first day of school outfit the night before. I wanted to look nice, but I wasn't about to go super prep like the rest of the school. I had decided on a high waisted red paisley skirt that buttoned down the front and a plain white crop top t-shirt, with my denim jacket on top and my brown combat boots to finish it off. I put on some red lipstick and mascara, and I was ready to go.

I looked at my cell phone to check the time. 7:30. Perfect. I grabbed my bag with all of my school things in it and rushed out the door. By the time I made it to breakfast, I think everyone was already there. We always sat at the same table, all the way against the far wall. From there you could see everyone who walked in. It was the perfect spot, and it was our spot.

After grabbing some food I walked over and sat next to Adam. "Good morning," I said, smiling at him.

"How are you?" He said back, scooting over so we were sitting very close together.

"Good," I said, taking a bite of my blueberry muffin. "So excited to get this school year going! We better have a few classes together."

I looked down to the other end of the table. Just as I suspected. There were Julie and Portman, sitting awfully close together on the bench and whispering to themselves. I smiled hugely to myself. "So, are they official yet?" I asked Connie who was sitting opposite me.

"Well, I don't know if it's officially Facebook official, but how long can it be now? Everyone knows its bound to happen." Connie said, shooting me the biggest smile.

After chatting with the Ducks about classes and what we were looking forward to, it was time to head to homeroom. The homeroom classes were divided by last name, so I went up to poster they had put on the wall and looked to see where I had to go. "If your last name starts with A, B, or C, then report to room 471. Well, this is good," I said to Adam. "At least we know we have homeroom together."

We had to go to homeroom every Monday morning, so they could take roll, read announcements, that kind of thing. It was usually majorly boring, but at least I had Adam to sit next to. We walked into the classroom and sat down. The first day of school homeroom was always the worst. We had to sit there for like an hour while they pass out everyone's schedules and read about 300 announcements. Ugh.

"Okay everyone," the teacher, a tall man in a wrinkly button down, said to the class. "I'm Mr. Knightly. I'm gonna start passing out your schedules." He proceeded to pass out the schedules in alphabetical order.

Averman, who was sitting right in front of me, turned around as soon as he got his schedule. "Well, my friends, looks like this is gonna be a boring year for me. I have AP Statistics, AP Chemistry, AP US Government, then lunch, then Ceramics, AP Psychology, Creative Writing 7-8, then hockey. Hello, no life senior year!" He groaned.

"Hey, we've got Chem together, Ave!" Adam said once he was handed his schedule. "I have AP Literature, then Chemistry, Drawing and Painting 7-8, lunch, AP Economics, Calculus, and lastly Photography before hockey. That's not looking too bad."

As soon as I was handed my schedule, I looked down to study it. "Yes! AP Lit first period!" I said, looking over at Adam, grinning hugely. "Starting off the day right," I said with a wink. "This is looking okay... I've got Honors Anatomy second, then Government with you Averman, then after lunch I have Pre Calculus, Drama, and Student Council before... What the heck?" I said, squinting down at my schedule. "They put me in water polo! Instead of hockey!"

"It's okay, Darce!" Charlie said to me with an eye roll. "They just made a mistake. You know, humans do that sometimes? Tell Mr. Knightly and he'll let you go to the office to change it."

"Ughhh. Of course it's my schedule that got messed up," I muttered to myself as I stood up. "Save me a seat in Lit if I'm not back in time!" I said to Adam. "Hopefully, this won't take too long."

After I went up and told Knightly what happened, I took the slip he gave me and hurried out of the classroom. When I got to the office, I let out an involuntary groan. There was about twenty other people already there waiting. I went and put my name in at the desk and sat down to wait. I let out other groan. "This bites," I said aloud.

"Freaking sucks," said someone to my right. I turned to look. Sitting in the chair next to me was a girl I had never seen before. The first thing I noticed about her was her outfit. It was adorable. She was wearing a vintage-looking floral dress belted above the waist with brown oxfords and was carrying the best over-the-shoulder vintage messenger bag I had ever seen. She had to be new here; I would've definitely recognized someone with that much style in a heartbeat. She looked to be about my age, with long blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Doesn't it?" I replied with a smile. "So, are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around. My name is Darcy."

"Hey, I'm Jack. Yeah, I just got here this morning and now I have to wait for my stupid schedule."

"Well, then, welcome to Eden Hall! It can be a little preppy at times, but I think you'll have a good time anyway."

"Thanks," she said. "By the way, I love your boots. I saw them the minute you walked in." She added with a laugh.

"Why thank you! I have total purse envy right now," I replied, shooting her bag a look, also laughing.

Just then the woman at the desk stood up and yelled, "Jacqueline McEmerly?" I froze. My roommate was here! I was just about to start looking around when Jack, the new girl, stood up.

"Well, this is me!" She said, "It was really nice-"

"Wait!" I said, cutting her off, "You're Jacqueline?"

"Um...yes?" She said with a quizzical look on her face.

I jumped up out of my seat. "We're roommates!"

"No way!" She said. "That's insane! I was just wondering when I would get my room assignment."

"Yes! What are the chances? I'm so excited right now! I was scared you weren't going to show!" I said, laughing again. "Well, you should go! But we will definitely be seeing each other really soon!"

"Totally!" She said, smiling. "See you!"

I sat back down and smiled to myself. My roommate looks totally cool! I couldn't have been more stoked. She looks exactly like someone who I would want to be friends with. I couldn't wait to introduce her to everyone... I should invite her to eat lunch with us!

Finally, after waiting for about thirty more minutes, they called my name. It took fairly quickly for them to sort everything out, since it was just one class that was messed up. By the time I got out, homeroom was over and first period was just starting. I hurried to get to class.

When I got there, the teacher was at the front of the room sitting at her desk, and the rest of the class was talking amongst themselves. I handed the teacher my pass and turned to look for Adam. I saw Julie and Kenny sitting together at a table, and Adam was at the table right in front of them. But his table wasn't empty, he was sitting next to... Rebecca Thompson? What the fuck? He looked like he was trying to get up, but Rebecca grabbed his arm.

"Ms. Conway, everyone has already taken their seats," the teacher, a strict woman named Mrs. Corpus, said to me. "And I hope everyone is happy, because these will be your seats and the person you are sitting with will be your partner for the rest of the semester. Darcy, I think I see a seat in the back."

My mouth was hanging open. I told Adam to save me a seat! What did that whore think she was doing? I walked to the back without looking at Adam. He was trying to get my attention, but I needed a minute to compose myself. I was mad. I knew I couldn't be mad at Adam-this had to be something Thompson planned-but still. I was allowed to be a little mad, I think.

I got to the seat in the back of the room, not even looking to see who my parter was. I threw down my bag and sat down with a huff. This is not how I wanted to start the best year of my life. Everything was going wrong!

"Rough day?"

I looked to my left. It was Jack! "You again! Well, this isn't so bad then! But, if we're being honest, no this is not the best day I've ever had."

"What happened up there? I saw you walk in looking fine, then all of a sudden you're face fell. If you don't mind me asking," she said, looking at me kindly.

"Ugh. It's kinda nothing. See that blonde guy three rows up, all the way on the end?"

"Yeah. The one that keeps looking back here?" She said, laughing a little.

"Yep. That's my boyfriend. We've been dating for almost three years. But that skank next to him has been trying to get with him forever. She must have known that I wasn't going to be here or that these would be our seats for the whole semester or something. She must have planned this! Ugh! I hate her so much!" Blegh. I was getting worked up again.

"Woah, calm down, it's okay!" Jack replied, chuckling at my frustration. "She seems like a bitch. Do you see the way she keeps smirking at you? That's pretty shady."

"Thank you. Glad that you're on my side, roomie," I said, turning away from where Adam and Thompson were sitting and smiling at Jack. "I'm really excited! I thought I was going to be rooming with some preppy jerk but you're totally cool! You have to eat lunch with me and my friends today."

"Yeah, thanks," Jack smiled at me. "I was so nervous to start a new school. I was in the same class with the same kids my whole life, I thought I was going to be totally friendless."

"Oh, where are you from?" I asked.

"Utah," she said. "I actually think I'm going to miss it. What about you?"

"Born and raised here, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Don't worry, there's lots of cool stuff that us locals do," I said with a wink. "Now, what are we supposed to be doing right now?

For the rest of the class, we did a stupid personal questionnaire (so cliche first day of school) and got to know each other. She was totally cool! We had so much in common. I was so distracted talking about clothes, bands, stores, celebrities, and tons of other stuff, that I totally forgot about Adam. When the bell rang at the end of class, and I saw Adam rushing at me, my previous anger came back.

"Darcy!" He exclaimed. I turned my back to him and started walking out of the classroom, pulling Jack with me. "Darcy! Come on. It wasn't my fault. She came out of nowhere! She knows how much you hate her. She's just trying to make you mad at me. I tried to get away but the teacher wouldn't let us switch seats."

I stopped walking. I really couldn't keep blaming him, I was being stupid and giving Thompson exactly what she wanted. I sighed and turned around. "You're right. I knew it wasn't your fault. I just couldn't help it." I turned to Jack. "Normally, I'm super nice, I swear. I don't hate anyone! Except her."

"So, are we okay?" Adam asked, looking kind of nervous. He's too cute. I could never stay mad at him, even if I wanted to.

I let out a small, reluctant smile and stepped closer to him. "We're fine," I said, grabbing his hand.

"Phew. That was a close one," he said, giving me a kiss on the forehead.

"Oh my God, I totally forgot! Sorry, Jack, this is my boyfriend Adam. Adam, this is Jack, my roommate!"

"Ah, so you're the mysterious roommate. Nice to finally meet you," he said, smiling and shaking her hand.

"Great to meet you, too," she said, smiling back.

By this point, we were down the hallway. We had a fifteen minute break in between classes to go to our lockers or the bathroom or whatever, so we were all just chilling. Julie and Kenny had followed us out of the class after they checked that me and Adam weren't having a huge fight, and were now politely chit-chatting with Jack. My positive outlook was completely restored; I had an awesome roommate, hockey on my schedule, and nothing could ever really get between Adam and I.

I saw Charlie walking down the hallway towards us with Fulton and Russ, so I waved them over. "Hey guys! This is my roommate, Jack. Jack, this is Fulton, Russ, and my brother Charlie." She was shaking everyone's hands, smiling and making small talk. I looked over at Charlie, and what I saw made my mouth drop for the second.

"Adam. Adam. Adam. Oh my god. Adam."

"What?" He said, laughing at me. "What's your problem?"

"Look at Charlie's face!" I whispered. We looked back at him. His eyes were wide and he was staring at Jack like he had never seen a girl before. We watched as she held out her hand to Charlie. Finally he snapped out of his little trance, giving her a charming smile as he shook her hand. I swear to god I saw her blush a little bit.

"He totally likes her. I haven't seen him look at anyone like that since... Linda." I said, looking at Adam. "And so far so good, she is nothing like Linda. Thank god." I had not liked Linda very much at all. When Charlie first started dating her, she seemed like a nice girl, but after a while her judgmental side came out. Charlie and her dated for a while, but it ended when she tried to make Charlie choose between her and me. Obviously, he chose me. Though he'd dated other girls since then, this was the first time I saw the deer-in-the-headlights look.

And Jack is way prettier then Linda.

"Oh my gosh. I know its the first day, and we just met her, but Jack may just be the best thing that has happened to our group in a while." I said to Adam.

Just then, the bell rang, signaling that it was time for second period.

"Jack!" I said before I turned to walk away. "If I don't see you again, come sit with us at lunch! You have to meet everyone!"

"I definitely will. Thanks everyone," she said with a big smile. "Does anyone have Spanish 7-8 next?"

"I do!" Charlie said, a little too enthusiastically, considering it was just Spanish class. "And I think Portman and Connie do to, so I'll introduce you to everyone. See you guys at lunch!" The two of them waved and left.

As soon as they were gone, I squealed. "I'm so obsessed with her! She totally fits right in with the group, too. AND Charlie is totally smitten! About time he found someone decent."

"Yeah, she seems really cool, Darce. I gotta go to class, so I'll see you at lunch?" Adam said as he backed away from me.

"Wait!" I said before he got to far. I pulled him back, and gave him a quick but meaningful kiss. "I'm sorry I freaked out earlier."

"It's okay," he said, giving me one last kiss on the forehead and a smile before walking away with Russ and Kenny.

Julie walked up to me. "Anatomy?" she asked.

"Yes! Finally, I get to grill you for the details of your steamy hookup with our very own Dean Portman."

She turned bright red. "Do we have to talk about this now?"

"Yes," I answered, laughing at her embarrassment. "Looks like its going to be a long class for you..."

"I hate you, Darcy," she said, laughing and looping her arm through mine. "Well, when he first found me outside..."

**A/N: Well, I hope everyone liked it! Please give me a review, it would really mean a lot! Love you, bbz, and I will put up the new chapter ASAP! ****~*Thanks for reading!*~ JaneeDohh :3**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello there! Welp, not gonna lie, I kinda forgot about this story for a minute... but I remembered! So its all good ;) I do want to keep going with this story and I want to say thank you sooo much to those of you who took the time to read and/or review! I really appreciate knowing there's someone out there who enjoys my story. :)) You're all the best! Enjoy the chapter!**

"...and then he said super exasperated, 'I've wanted to be with you since we first met all those years ago. Jules, how can you not see that?'" Julie told me as we were sitting in Anatomy waiting for the bell to ring. "I stared at him for a second, then I just kind of...jumped on him?" she said, her face turning bright red.

"Cat! Oh my god. That's the cutest story I've ever heard in my life," I said smiling hugely. "I am so happy for you. I know you two are going to be so great together."

"Thanks, Darce. You're the best," she said, hugging me.

Just then the bell rang, and the two of us stood up. We were the only Ducks in this class, how weird was that? Julie and I went our separate ways, since we had different third period classes. I had Government with Averman and probably some of the other guys too.

The period passed without much event, just me and Averman and Dwayne catching up on what was going on in our lives. When the three of us got to the cafeteria, only Fulton, Russ, and Luis were there. We bought our food then went to go sit down with them. I still hadn't really gotten a chance to find out how everyone's summers were, so we all talked about that. From where I was sitting, I had the perfect view of the door so I noticed immediately when Jack and Charlie walked in together.

Jack was laughing really hard, seemingly at something Charlie said because he was chuckling and watching her with a smile on his face. Oh my god. Charlie totally liked her! This was so great.

I was so caught up in studying the two of them that I didn't even notice Adam until after he was sitting right next to me, and he nudged me on the arm.

"Aw, I missed you too, babe," he said, pulling my attention to him. I looked at him. He was smirking at me. "A little distracted, are we?"

"Shut up," I said, sticking my tongue out and smiling at him. "I'm sorry, honey, hi."

"Hi," he said, leaning down and giving me a kiss on the lips. I resumed watching Charlie and Jack, and when I saw them heading over I began waving at them until they sat down right across the table from us.

"Hey guys!" I said. "How are your classes so far?" I asked Jack. "Liking Eden Hall much?"

"Well, so far, everyone has been really cool," she said, glancing at Charlie and smiling. "And the Ducks, every one has been so great! You didn't tell me you played hockey, Darcy."

I laughed a little. "Yeah, I guess I forgot," I said, laughing at the incredulous looks on Adam and Charlie's faces. "It's really not that big of a deal!"

"Well, Charlie made it seem like a big deal," Jack replied. "Seems like your team is pretty good!"

"Good? Please. We've got this season in the bag," Charlie said, exchanging a high five with Adam.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I guess we really won't know until the end, will we?" I said. "Regardless of how good we play, the Ducks are all awesome. Have you met everyone yet?"

"Yeah, I think so," she said, looking up and down the table, smiling and waving at everyone in greeting.

"I can't wait for you to move into the room, it's been so empty all by myself!"

"I know, I'm so sorry for leaving you alone! My mom likes to work on her own schedule," she said, rolling her eyes. "I brought some decorations, like lights and stuff. If you like them we can put them up!"

"I have a ton of posters and things, too! As soon as I'm out of hockey later we can put everything up." I smiled. I really don't think I could've gotten any luckier when it came to a roommate.

All of us Ducks spent the rest of lunch telling Jack about the school, our team, and tons of stories about all the shenanigans we've gotten into over the past few years. Everyone was laughing so hard at one story that Charlie was telling; I personally couldn't breathe. Charlie was going all out for Jack, apparently.

"...and then Fult drops the frozen chicken in the fire because apparently he 'likes it well-done.' The burning smell effectively ended the party, and we no longer let Fulton drink Ja ger."

"Oh my god, you guys are insane! I love it," Jack said, trying to catch her breath.

I took a deep breath and wiped a tear from my eye. "And theres plenty more stories like that to come, I'm sure. Isn't our goal to go completely buck-wild this year?" I asked, leaning across the table and giving Charlie our signature fist-bump-point handshake.

"You know it, sis!" he said, laughing. "However, I think at the moment it's time for us to head to class. Unfortunately."

"Bleeeegh," I moaned with a frown. "Pre calculus." Math was not my thing. "Jack, do you have a seventh period?"

"Nope, only three more classes till I blow this joint! Well, go to the dorms at least." Jack replied with a grimace and a little laugh.

"Alright perfect! You can get settled a little and then I'll be back after hockey just in time to help you finish up!" I said.

"Sounds good! Now, does anyone know how I can get to room 415 for Economics?"

"Yeah, I've got that class, too," Adam said with a friendly smile. "Are you ready to go?"

"Sweet! Yeah, lets go!" Jack said. "Thanks for being so welcoming, guys," she continued, speaking to all the Ducks, "You've all been awesome." Was it just me or did her gaze linger on Charlie's for a second longer then necessary? I need to calm down, I think I'm starting to get a little ahead of myself with this one.

After a kiss and a "see you later" from Adam, the two of them left for their class. "Alright, anyone heading to Pre Calc?" I asked the remaining Ducks.

"You're in luck, little sis," Charlie said with a grin, "I also have Pre Calc."

"_Little _sis?" I scoffed. "I'm a minute older little bro."

"Yeah, right," Charlie said. "Mom always said I was born first!"

"If you two are done, we should head to class. I'm in pre calc too," Portman said from the other end of the table, rolling his eyes at our antics. "Let's get this shit over with."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," I laughed, but with a little hint of pain. Math is the worst.

The period passed without much excitement, as could have been predicted, and I went on to Drama where the only other Ducks in the class were Connie and Goldberg.

"Goldberg?" I said to him when he walked into the theatre room. Connie and I were already sitting next to each other gossiping about our fairly eventful day. "Why are you in Drama?" Connie and I looked at each other and busted up laughing. I couldn't exactly imagine Goldberg performing a serious monologue.

"Hey, shut up," he said with a grimace. "I needed a new elective because they dropped graphic design. It was either this or playing tuba in the band, and I swore to myself in seventh grade that I would never pick up another tuba in my life."

We just laughed harder. "Well, all right then Goldie," I said as soon as I caught my breath. "Welcome to Senior Level Dramatic Arts. It's about to get so Shakespearean up in this bitch!"

"Hell yeah it is!" Connie said, giving me a high five and a "whoop."

Goldberg just stared at us like we were crazy. And maybe we were a little bit, but hey, its been a long day.

Drama was a series of ice breaker games and trust exercises in order to get to know the people who "would be our family for the rest of the year," as the teacher put it.

"Getting up on stage can be hard enough, but if you don't trust the people you are on stage with, you will never fully be able to become the character," our teacher, Mrs. Bernard ("call me Mrs. B!") said to the class. "We will have several shows throughout the year that everyone _must _participate in so if you aren't available for rehearsals than you are going to fail this class. Auditions for the first show are next Monday at three o'clock, and everyone must be there."

"Shit," I whispered to Connie and Goldberg. "We're going to be really busy this year." And I haven't even been to Student Council yet!

"I know," Connie said, biting her lip. "Had I know we had to do all these shows I probably wouldn't have taken this class."

As the bell rang we stood up and left the classroom with our spirits a little lower then when we started. We had a fifteen minute break again, so Adam and I planned to meet. He was waiting for me in front of my locker.

I rushed up to him and put my arms around him, pressing my face into his chest. I felt his arms snake around me, holding me tight.

"Whats wrong?" He whispered in my ear. He could literally always tell what I was feeling without even looking at me. I have no idea how he does that.

I pulled back a tiny bit so I could look at his face. "Nothing," I said with a sigh. "Drama was just a blunt reminder that I'm going to have absolutely no time for a life this year. Between a zillion APs and Honors classes, hockey, Drama, and Student Council, and all of that on top of college applications, I'm honestly not sure how I'm going to do it all. It's just a little overwhelming, you know?" I snuggled my head back into his chest. "Although I do already feel better just knowing I have you here."

"It's going to be okay," he said rubbing my back. "If anyone can do it all, its you."

I smiled at him and kissed him on the neck. He lowered his head and gave me a proper kiss, before pulling away.

"We should probably get to class," he said regretfully. "One more to go before you can let all your anger and frustration out at hockey practice."

"Alright," I said with a small frown, smoothing a piece of his hair back. "I love you."

He smiled, "I love you, too."

I tried to smile back at him, but I really couldn't. I think it came out as more of a grimace. He squeezed my hand one more time, looking a little concerned, before he turned and headed off in the other direction. I let out a deep sigh. I was not giving up on my perfect year, not yet. I could do it all. I could make it work. I know it.

I walked into Eden's Activity Office which is where the Student Council meets for class, as well as where we plan all our events, make posters, and organize pretty much everything else that happens at this school. I loved being on Student Council for the past two years, I just have a feeling with all the other stuff going on this year I'm not going to enjoy it as much. Not my smartest scheduling choice.

I sat down next to Kenny, who is also on his third year in Student Council. "Hey Kenny man," I said, giving him a little smile.

"Hey, Darce," he said back. Kenny has definitely broken out of his shell since the Junior Goodwill games. He grew about a foot and half and really matured into his looks. He started dating this girl Michelle about six months ago and they have been going steady ever since. A lot of the guys go through their cycle of girlfriends, and its usually kinda fun for us to have a new girl at the table for a while. Most of those girls don't last too long, but Michelle has become a pretty regular fixture.

Kenny and I have always gotten along especially well, probably just because of all the additional time we spend together in Student Council. He is always there to listen, no matter what. "We haven't had a chance to catch up in a while! How was your summer? I didn't see Michelle at lunch, how is she?"

Kenny opened his mouth to speak, when he was cut off by a voice coming from behind me.

"Darcy," a deep voice said. "long time no see."

I turned around, and standing there was none other than William Frank. Will was an attractive guy, right around six foot with dark brown hair and a pretty well built body. He's a senior and has been on Student Council just as long as I have. He is captain of the baseball team, president of about 20 clubs, and an active member of the debate team. Along with his impressive resume, he also has about half of the female population at Eden waiting in line to go on a date with him. Oh yeah, did I mention he's totally obsessed with me?

Okay, I know that sounds conceited. But its the truth! Ever since Freshman year, he has been hitting on me and asking me out, and that did not stop when Adam and I started dating. It sucks, because he really is a cool guy. If he wasn't so persistent I bet the two of us could be friends. But, you know, I kinda have more of a thing for blondes. I don't understand why he's been so persistent, its not like I'm his only option!

"Hey Will," I said, smiling at him. I mean, I'm not one to be rude! "How was your summer?"

"It was pretty good. Boring mostly, but relaxing nonetheless."

"Cool," I said, trying to direct my attention back to Kenny.

"Hey, Darcy..." he said, running his hand through his hair kinda nervously.

"What is it?" I asked, wary of another date offer I would obviously be turning down.

"Can we ... can we talk later?" He asked. "I know you're busy, but maybe we could meet for coffee at around six tonight? It's strictly a student council matter, I swear." He added that last bit probably anticipating what I was going to say next: _no._

I took a deep breath and shot a look at Kenny. "I guess so," I said. "I won't be able to talk for long because I already have a bunch of homework to do, though."

He smiled, and I have to admit it was a little dazzling. I suppose I could see his appeal, you know, if I were looking for it. "Cool," he said. "See you at the Duck Blind at six!"

After he waved and walked away to sit at the other end of the room, I looked at Kenny. He was smirking at me. "Are you really gonna keep letting this go on?"

"Hey! I am not allowing anything to go on! How many times do you have to tell someone no before they get the hint?" I said, gesturing my hands exasperatedly.

"Well, maybe if you didn't agree to go on coffee dates..." Kenny said, his tone full of implications.

"It is NOT a coffee date. I am going to set him straight once and for all," I said, crossing my arms. "We will discuss this no further."

"Always the stubborn one, aren't we..."

I shoved him. "I said I don't want to talk about this! I'm stressed enough as it is."

"This shouldn't be this conversation that stresses you out. I'm not the boyfriend who you have to tell you're going on a date with another guy."

"I'm not going on a freaking date, Kenny," I said rolling my eyes. "He won't be mad."

Although, if we're being real, Adam does not like Will at all. I mean, can you blame him? I would not be okay with some girl asking him out all the time, so I shouldn't be expecting him to be. If I told him the whole situation, though, I know he would understand.

"Oh-kaaay," he said skeptically. "I'm just telling you what it sounded like."

I rolled my eyes again. Kenny didn't know what he was talking about. Right? Suddenly I wasn't so sure. Maybe he would freak out and get mad, just like I did this morning. I really do not want to fight with him again.

As the bell rang and I stood and gathered my stuff, I thought about my options in my head. I couldn't not tell him. He would know right away if I was hiding something.

I followed Kenny out of the classroom and we made our way to the rink. It was finally time for hockey. This first day of school certainly was dragging on, I didn't even want to think about how its gonna be when my teachers actually start giving real homework.

Mostly everyone was in the locker room by the time we got there, save for a few people, including Adam. I was glad he wasn't here yet because that means I could avoid really talking to him until after practice.

I hurried and got into my practice clothes so I could get onto the ice. While this had not been the worst day, it certainly was not the best and hockey was just what I needed to cool down. The second my skates hit that ice, I took a huge deep breath and felt instantly more calm. I did a few practice laps around the rink while everyone else gathered together. I saw Coach Orion come out from his office so I skated over to the group.

I looked around the group. It felt really good having the entire group back together again after a summer apart. Coach Orion was smiling, you could tell he really missed us all too.

"Okay, everyone!" He yelled out in his booming Coach voice to get us all to quiet down. "Its great to see you all again! Hope you guys had a good summer. We're back in school now so its really time for us all to get back into shape, ready to win first place nationally this year!" We all cheered. "Now, we're gonna be having practices every day at this time until three. Sometimes I'll schedule for us to go longer and sometimes I will schedule morning or Saturday practices. I hope you are all prepared for the amount of hours this is going to be, because we are getting serious this year."

My heart dropped lower than its felt all day. I knew we were going to have a lot of practice but I never really took into account my other extracurriculars and homework. And hockey was supposed to be my anti-stress time of the day.

Coach split us into two teams for a scrimmage. Adam skated up to me before we started.

"Are you okay?" he said, pulling off his helmet and looking concerned. "You seem a little ... off right now."

I didn't even take off my helmet because I didn't want him to see my eyes. "I'm fine," I said in a way that was trying to sound reassuring but was probably not reassuring at all. I touched him on the arm and skated away. Because honestly, I wasn't fine. My stomach was churning with anxiety and I couldn't think of anything to quell these thoughts. I think Adam could tell so he wasn't going to say anything until we were alone.

The rest of practice passed normally. I played hard, really hard, probably because I was stressed and that was my go to stress releaser. As soon as Coach dismissed us I stumbled into the locker rooms and stripped out of my huge, smelly pads as quickly as I could. The guys have always been really cool about letting us girls get the shower first, which is good because they are usually still ready before us. I practically ran to the shower because I wanted to make the most of the short time we had. Everyone was looking at me kind of weird, and I couldn't blame them. I was normally the one holding everyone else up before and after practice.

The second I stepped under the burning hot stream of water I felt a million times better. Right then I made a decision: I shouldn't waste my stress-free first few days feeling stressed about how stressed I was going to be. It's completely illogical! I should be taking advantage of this time, and conquer each hurtle as it comes. Thinking about the big picture is what makes my head feel like its going to explode, so I'll just avoid those thoughts.

I'd been so caught up in my thoughts I didn't notice when Julie and Connie got into the two shower stalls to the left of me. After standing in silence for a few seconds, Connie says, "What's your beef, Conway? You haven't been yourself all practice."

I rolled my eyes at her bluntness, but Connie has always been that way. "I'm fine," I say, and after realizing this is the first time all afternoon I said it and meant it, I added, "now. I decided I'm not going to waste my time being stressed now. Might as well make the most of the year while its fun, right?"

"Hell yeah!" Connie said, shooting me a huge smile. "I'm not gonna lie, you were being a total downer for a sec there."

I laughed. "I'm sorry. No more of that!"

"Thank god!" Julie said. "Because I personally could not be having a better day."

"Overall, I would definitely agree with you on that one. So, what do you guys think of Jack?" I asked the two of them as we were walking from the showers back to our lockers in our towels. "Doesn't she seem rad?"

"Totally! She fits right in with the Ducks," Connie said.

"I know!" Julie added. "I can't wait to get to know her better."

By this time we had made it back to our lockers, so the guys started to file out to the showers. I was facing the mirror brushing out my hair, which was extremely tangled, and from my vantage point I could see everyone walking by. Of course I saw Adam right away, and he was looking at me too. I turned around and gave him a smile, a real smile, and I saw him physically relax. He smiled back, and I felt bad that I had been worrying him. I waved at him and he waled over.

"You look better," he said, relieved, then seeing the look I shot him he added, " I mean happier. Let's go somewhere to relax after this. You need it."

"Thanks," I said with an eye roll. "But, yeah, that sounds like the best." I smiled. "Sorry I was being such a spazz. We'll talk about it later."

"You aren't a spazz," he laughed. "But I'm glad you're feeling better. I'll see you in a minute," he said, leaning in for a kiss.

"No!" I said, leaning out of the way. "You smell! Shower before you kiss me." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"No way!" He pulled me into his arms and kissed me all over my face. I was laughing and trying to push him away.

"I hate you," I laughed. "Now I smell again."

He looked down at me with happy eyes. "I love you."

I'm not gonna lie. I melted. I pulled him close for an intense but relatively brief kiss, then pushed him away. "You're such a dork," I said, smiling hugely.

He backed away, still smiling. "You love it," he smirked as he walked towards the shower.

I shook my head and smiled, and turned back to the mirror. I saw him turn around and walk away in the mirror before shifting my eyes to my own reflection. When I locked eyes with myself I was hit with another heart-sinking thought: I still have to tell Adam about my "date" with Will tonight.

Oh shit.

**A/N: Well there ya go, ya'll! Hope you liked it! Please please please make my life and send me a review! Love you all xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Haaaaay y'all! Don't hate me, I know it took forever. I've had an extreeeeemely stressful past couple of weeks/months, and honestly its not quite over yet. I finally was hit with inspiration, however, and was able to crank out another chapter. I know I'm getting kinda scattered when it comes to plot, but I think I have found a direction and I'm just gonna keep going with it. Even though it takes me a while to update, don't give up on me! I'll be here with another chapter when you least expect it! I'll be done with finals in a few weeks so hopefully I'll have another chapter for you guys by then :) Thank you so so soooo much for reading really I love you all so much. Your reviews make my day every single time, and it means a lot to know that my story has a few fans out there. Anyway, enough of the rant! Enjoy the chapter!**

No, no, no. Its not a date. I blame Kenny for getting me so freaked out about this. Adam would understand, right? He wasn't going to freak out. Right? He definitely was not the jealous type… was he?

Oh jeez. I need to stop doing this to myself. This was Adam we were talking about. We've been going out long enough that I should be able to tell him anything and know that he would understand. I took a deep breath and smiled at myself in the mirror. This was going to be perfectly fine.

I tilted my head and looked at myself a little more closely. Loooong, wavy, light brown hair, which reached all the way to the small of my back. Green eyes that have always felt too big for my face, framed by dark eyebrows. A bit below average height, but in a way that usually worked to my advantage. My body was toned from hockey, but I have always felt too skinny. When I look at myself, I see an average looking girl. I will never understand why Will or even Adam bother with me, when there are millions of other (probably less emotionally complicated) girls out there. Adam always tells me that I'm so much more beautiful then I can see, but he's my boyfriend so he's supposed to say that.

"Why is it that I always find you like this?"

I turned around to see Charlie staring at me with an amused look on his face and I laughed. "I'm deep in thought. Don't bug me."

He rolled his eyes. "Seriously though, are you alright? You were awfully quiet today, you know, for you."

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Who knew senior year was going to be so stressful though! Why is no one else freaking out as much as I am?" I asked, actually curious. I mean, was there something wrong with me? Most of the other Ducks have just as much to deal with as I do, and I'm the only one acting like a big baby.

Charlie came over and sat down on the bench in front of my locker, and motioned for me to sit next to him. I came over and leaned my head against his shoulder.

"Everyone else will go through this, too, don't worry. We have a lot to deal with this year, you're just realizing it a little sooner then everyone else. You know the Ducks. They leave every confrontation until the last possible second. This is no different."

A let out a deep breath and looked at Charlie. "You're right. Why is it that you are always so right?"

"Years and years of practice," he said with a faux-cocky wink. "Now whats this I hear about you going on a date with Will Frank?"

I groaned. "It is not a date! Who told you that? Don't answer, I'm going to kill Kenny. Did he tell anyone else?"

Charlie laughed. "I was kidding! Kenny told me, and only me, what went down because he figured you could use some advice."

I groaned again and buried my face in my arms. "I have to tell him, right?" I asked, although my words were muffled.

"Tell who what?" a new voice to the conversation asked.

My head shot up. "Adam. Nothing! No one."

Charlie, who was still seated next to me, stood up shaking his head. "I'll talk to you later, Darce. See ya later, Banksie," he said giving Adam a nod and exiting the locker room. Over Adam's shoulder Charlie turned around and mouthed "TELL HIM."

Adam had a confused look on his face. "Okay, I missed something."

"It's nothing," I said, shooting Charlie a glare as he walked away. "Ready to go? Lets go for a walk."

"Umm okay," Adam said, obviously suspicious that something was going on. He always knew when I was lying, which was seriously not coming in handy at this point. Nevertheless, he grabbed my hand and linked our fingers together.

"Lets take the long way back," I said as we exited the locker room. As soon as we stepped outside we were immediately hit with a crisp gust of fall wind.

"I guess summer is already over, huh?" I asked Adam after a few moments of walking in silence, trying to avoid the subject.

Adam pulled me to a stop. "Okay, whats going on? You only take the long way when you have something big to say and you only talk about the weather when you're trying to stall. I know you're not telling me something."

I sighed. How did he always know? Was I really that transparent with my emotions? "It's really not a big deal, Adam. I just don't want you to freak out over nothing."

"The fact that you think I would freak out at all is what's making me nervous. Darce, we've been going out for a long time. You know you can tell me anything, right?" He had a look of such sincerity on his face that I was hit with an almost crippling wave of love for him. Why did he have to be so perfect and I have to be so… not perfect? It really isn't fair.

I took a deep breath and decided to dive right in. "You remember Will Frank?"

In .5 seconds Adam's facial expression went from love to hatred. "What about Will Frank? What did he do?"

Perhaps thats not how I should have opened the subject. "Its not what you're thinking."

"Really? Because I'm thinking about how he's been trying to steal my girlfriend for three years. So please, prove me wrong and tell me: what about Will Frank?" Adam asked angrily.

Shit. I hadn't even told him yet and he was already mad. At least I know he isn't actually mad at _me_, per say…. Yet. Gulp.

"Well, he asked me to meet him for coffee later, and I said I would." I said, biting my lip.

"Jesus, Darcy. You know that guy only wants one thing from you. Why would you agree to go out with him?" He was glaring at me. I hated that look from him.

"I'm not 'going out' with him. He said he needed to talk to me about Student Council," I replied defensively.

"Of course he would say that to get you to go out with him! Before we were going out I would say _anything_ just to have five minutes alone with you. You're being stupid about this, Darcy." He turned away and was running his hands through his hair angrily.

The part of me that knew Adam would get over this was swooning inside at his little love confession that was hidden within his anger. But the other part, and at this point much larger part, was getting angry at Adam for getting angry at me.

"Hey, I'm not stupid, Adam," I said angrily, pulling his arm so he had to look at me. His eyes softened the tiniest bit because I knew he felt bad about calling me that, but he wouldn't apologize until this was over. "I am in a relationship with you. You know this, I know this, Will knows this. I would not _ever _go on a date with anyone else, ever. You know that!"

Adam gave me a grudging nod, and I continued.

"He said this was about student council. I, as a member of student council, am curious to see what he has to say. If he tries anything, I will set him straight once and for all! And never trust him again. I am capable of taking care of myself, you know. Don't you trust me?"

I was standing with my arms crossed, looking directly into Adam's eyes. He stared back for a second, before groaning and putting his face in his hands. He looked back up at me, and the anger was replaced with remorse. "You're right. I'm sorry. I _do_ trust you. I do. It's him I don't trust." He took a step closer to me and put his arms around me. "I just really can't lose you. I don't know what I'd do."

I gave in and put my arms around him too, and put my head against his shoulder. "You aren't going to lose you. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. I'm sorry, too. I should've made sure it was okay with you first."

"No, you shouldn't have to ask me if you can meet up with someone from a class. I trust you, I really do," he said, and he had that sincere look back in his eyes. "If he tries to pull anything, though, I'll kick his ass."

I laughed. "And I wouldn't expect anything less," I said with a smile, leaning in and kissing him. I tried to pull away after a sec, I mean we were still standing in the middle of the quad, but Adam tightened his grip on me and deepened the kiss. I was surprised, but I wasn't complaining so I kissed him back until I was light headed. When we finally broke for air, he leaned his forehead against mine.

"I love you," he said. "Thats why I act like a jerk sometimes."

"I know you do," I replied, giving him another quick peck. "And you aren't a jerk. I would've been worried if you had accepted this without any questions." I said the last part teasingly, but it was true. "Can we just never fight again, please?"

Adam laughed and gave me another drawn out kiss on the lips. "I guess so," he said with one last kiss on the lips.

"Good," I said. I grabbed his arm and linked mine through it, and started to pull us along the path back to the dorms. "Now can we please go back to my room? I'm dying to see what Jack has done with the place."

As we walked along the windy path I told Adam about my day, and honestly just hearing it aloud and knowing that I wouldn't be going through this year alone made me feel a million times better. By the time we got to my dorm, our fight was practically forgotten and everything was feeling back to normal.

When I opened the door, I saw a scene I definitely wasn't expecting.

There was Jack, standing on her bed, securing a pretty strand of Christmas lights above our window. That wasn't the surprising part, though. Charlie was standing on _my_ bed, hanging up the other side. The two were laughing about something that obviously occurred right before we walked in. The two of them didn't seem to notice Adam and I at first.

"Charlie?" I said. "What are you doing here?"

I guess it was my turn to take them by surprise. Charlie spun around quickly and jumped off the bed, although I'm pretty sure that that was an accident because his cheeks turned a little pink. Jack was slightly more calm, she turned around and then gracefully sat down and smiled.

"Jesus, DJ, you scared me," Charlie said.

I laughed. "Sorry," I said, walking into the room with Adam trailing behind me. "Not that I'm not stoked to see you, but you didn't answer my question."

"I came over to see how your little chat went," he said, eyeing Adam and I suggestively. "Looks like all is well?"

I smiled and sat down on my bed, pulling Adam down next to me. I looked at him, then at Charlie before saying, "Yeah, I guess so." Adam laughed and kissed me on the head. "Anyway, Jack! The room looks amazing." In addition to the lights around the window, she had also put some more around the mirror on the back of the door. She had hung up a few posters and the rest of her wall was completely covered in photos. It all looked so hip and perfect and I couldn't have planned it better myself.

"Thanks!" Jack said, smiling and looking around the room. "I'm glad you like it! I can definitely see myself getting used to this place."

I let my eyes wander over to Jack's pictures hung up on the wall. There were a lot of pictures from skiing trips, school dances, parties, some family portraits… all the usual stuff. I noticed the same four boys and three girls in a lot of the pictures, and the majority of the wall seemed to be random combinations of the eight of them. There was one boy who seemed to pop up more often then the others, a boyfriend perhaps? I definitely needed to get the scoop on this later when Jack and I were alone.

Jack and Adam were chatting about their homework from Econ, so I glanced over at Charlie who was sitting on the chair at my desk. He was also looking at the pictures on Jack's wall, except his "casual observation" was looking a little less casual due to the scowl on his face. He shifted his eyes towards me, and when he saw me looking his cheeks turned bright red. Oh, dear brother, how easy you are to read. He really liked her! I looked back at him with a smug smile on my face.

Charlie stood up quickly and cleared his throat. "I, um, have to go. I have some homework I should really get done," he said.

"Okay," Jack said, smiling at him. "Thanks for all your help today, by the way."

Charlie smiled back, his cheeks still a little pink from all that embarrassment. "Anytime," he replied. "I'll see ya later Darce, Banksie."

Adam and I chorused our goodbyes and I made a mental note to have a serious convo with my silly little brother extremely soon.

"Well, I guess _we_ should start doing our homework, too…" I said reluctantly.

A few hours and a few stupid worksheets later, I was done with my homework for the night. I had completely lost track of time and when I looked at the clock, I was shocked to see that it was 5:45.

"Ah, shit," I said, turning to Adam, who was sitting at my desk finishing up his Calculus homework. "I said I would meet Will at six."

"Okay," Adam said a little stiffly. "I guess I should go then? Call me when you're done, if you want."

I got up from my lounging position on the bed and walked over to him. Jack, who was sitting criss-cross applesauce on her own bed, looked over at us curiously.

"Of course I'll call you," I said to Adam, maneuvering myself so I was standing between his legs facing him. He was so much taller then me that this had us almost eye-to-eye. "I don't _want_ to do this. But you know why I have to."

Adam sighed. "I know. Its just not as easy as I thought it would be to watch you go."

I was then struck with an idea.

"Come with me!" I exclaimed.

"Go with you?" Adam repeated, taken aback by my enthusiasm.

"Yes, come with me! Will never said this was a private meeting, who says you can't come?" How come I didn't think of this sooner? "At the very least go to the Duck Blind with me. You can give us a few minutes of privacy, but this way we'll all feel better, right?"

Adam smiled. "Yeah, that would make me feel a lot better, actually."

I turned to Jack. "Would you like to join us?" I mean, why not? Then Adam would have someone to wait with.

Jack looked up at me, and her cheeks were a little pink. It was obvious she had been trying to act like she wasn't listening… oh well, who can blame her? I talk loud.

"Umm," Jack began. "Sounds fun, but whats the Duck Blind?"

"It's our favorite coffee shop on campus! Its open late every day. Its where we usually have impromptu Duck meetings, but its also where we all just go to chill." I replied excitedly. "I forgot you've never been there! You definitely have to come."

She smiled. "Yeah, sure why not. I could go for some coffee right now."

"Well then, lets go!" I said, grabbing my purse and leaving the room, followed by Adam and Jack.

On the walk to the Duck Blind Adam and I gave Jack an impromptu tour of the campus, pointing out landmark spots that we passed by. It was almost dusk, and the entire campus was flooded in a golden orange glow that made everything look magical. It was absolutely beautiful.

The Duck Blind was crowded with students when we got there, most of them probably trying to prolong the summer by not doing their assignments. Oddly, there didn't seem to be any Ducks there...except for Kenny who was sitting doing homework with his girlfriend Michelle at a table in the corner. I rolled my eyes. He so did that on purpose, he knew I was coming to meet Will and he obviously was keen to watch. He looked up and caught my eye, gave me a little wave, and quickly looked back down when I gave him the evil eye.

I saw Will about five seconds after that, just as he was looking up to glance around the room… presumably to look for me. Jeez. This guy was impatient. I was only five minutes late! When our eyes locked, he smiled, but his smile was quickly turned into a frown when he noticed Adam and Jack standing behind me. Well, I mean I guess it wasn't Jack he was angry about. I shrug-smiled back, and held up my index finger. "One sec," I mouthed to him. I turned to Adam, who was glowering at Will.

"He is way too excited to see you," Adam said, huffing and crossing his arms.

"Oh, please," I said, rolling my eyes at him. "Don't be childish."

Adam grumbled something under his breath, and I took that as an affirmation. I pulled us over to where Will was sitting.

"Hey Will," I said, when we were standing right in front of him.

He stood up as soon as we got there. "Hi," he replied, looking only at me. "I didn't realize you'd be bringing company."

"Frank," Adam said, with the most reluctant nod of his head.

"Banks," Will replied cooly, neither one of them being the first to look away.

"And, um, this is my roommate, Jack," I clumsily interjected into their staring contest. "She's new this year."

"Lovely to meet you, Jack," Will said, turning off the ice he was giving Adam and being his normal charming self, shaking her hand politely.

"They just came to get some coffee," I said. I looked at Adam, and inclined my head toward the line. "Right?"

Adam looked at me for an extra beat, a silent warning that basically meant to get him if anyone's ass needed kicking. "Right," Adam said, smiling at me.

"Can you get me a-?" I began.

"Passion tea with peach?" Adam interrupted.

I giggled and nodded, and Adam leaned in and gave me kiss on the lips, which was obviously just for show. He wanted to give Will a little reminder, and as infantile as it was I let it slide because I wanted to remind Will, too.

"Right, well, we'll be back in a few!" Jack said awkwardly, pulling Adam's arm toward the coffee line and shooting me a look. She probably thought she was just going for a relaxing coffee, the poor girl… I'd have to make that up to her later.

Will, who was still standing at his seat, gestured to the chair opposite his. "Care to sit?" he asked, not a trace of the vehemence that had been present when he was talking to Adam.

"Sure," I said, sitting down. "So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, the thing is…" he began, but then stopped. "I don't expect an answer right away. You can think about this before you decide."

I cocked my head to the side, confused. "Decide what?" I asked. "You haven't even told me anything yet."

"Right, well, I just wanted you to know that before, so you didn't feel pressured…" I shot him a 'get on with it' look, and he continued. "Would you run with me for Senior social co-chairs?"

I paused, caught completely off guard. _That_ sure wasn't what I was expecting.

At Eden Hall, instead of having one student council president that oversaw all of the schools activities, there were two Senior co-chairs, a boy and a girl. Those who were elected would share the burden of planning all school dances and activities on campus, as well as organize them, publicize them, and make sure that everything is carried out according to plan. They were in charge of decorating the school for pep rallies and getting the students to actually attend those pep rallies. They also ran every student council meeting and made sure that everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing. They also represented Eden Hall at a nation-wide Student Council conference in Washington, D.C. every year. The two that one almost always run as a pair, although that isn't a requirement, and they tend to be the top male and female on campus when it comes to academics, extracurriculars, and popularity.

Never in a million years had I thought about running for it. _Me?_

"I know its a lot to think about. And I know its a lot of responsibility. But honestly, I think together we can win, and really do a lot of good for the school," Will said warily, trying to talk me into it. I still hadn't said a word since his initial proposal.

I really didn't know what to say. I had never even been in a position of power before, was I really ready to take on one this big? And what if I win? Do I have enough time to take on something like this? My schedule was completely booked as it is.

And on the flip side, what if I were to _lose_? Talk about soul-crushing.

"Darcy? Do you have anything to say whatsoever?" Will asked, looking at me a little impatiently this time. "I'm not saying decide. I just want to hear your initial reaction…?"

I sighed heavily. "I don't know, Will… this is just so much to think about!"

"Well, why don't you think of the positives? This would look amazing on college applications. With all your other extracurriculars, you'd be exactly the well-rounded candidate that every school is looking for," Will added, sounding straight from the pages of an ivy-league pamphlet.

Which got me thinking… Ivy League. Maybe this was what I needed… That extra boost that would set me apart from other applicants. I mean, not that I necessarily wanted to go to an Ivy but it wouldn't hurt to have my options open!

And then my mind flip-flopped. Adam. How would he react to all of this? As soon as the year gets into full swing, would I have any time left to spend with him?

And then I thought of something else… "Why me?" I asked suddenly. "You could win running with anyone, you know that. So why me?"

Will had the decency to look a little embarrassed, before clearing his throat and answering, "Who says I'm sure I would win? With you, I think we pretty much have the entire population of Eden Hall locked down as voters. Theres a lot of demographic that you cover that I wouldn't get running with anyone else. And regardless of all that, I think you'd do a really great job. You obviously love Eden Hall, and I know you have a lot of great ideas. You're passionate about making not only the school but the world a better place. Not to mention you are a natural born leader, anyone can see that."

I closed my eyes and shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. Did Will really think all those things about me? Could they actually be true? I had never had to think about my own life so objectively before, and it was a bit disconcerting. "Well, no matter what I can't give you an answer right now."

"That's totally fine. I respect that," he said, nodding. "I didn't expect you to be able to answer right away."

"When do you need to know by?" I asked. This was going to be a hard one. Whatever I decide to do, its going to effect the rest of the year.

"As soon as possible? How about by Student Council on Friday?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I can do that."

Will gave me one of his classic Will-Frank-million-bucks smiles. "Thanks, Darce. Just so you know, no hard feelings no matter what you decide."

I smiled back, and stood to leave. He stood up, too. "I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow," he said glancing at something over my shoulder, then out of nowhere he pulled me in for a hug. I reluctantly gave him a pat on the back before pulling away quickly.

"Bye, Will," I said, and hurriedly turned around. I saw Adam and Jack standing right behind me a little ways away and I hurried towards them. Adam was straight glaring at Will, probably for the sneak-attack hug. I gave him an apologetic shrug as I approached.

"Ugh, I hate that guy," Adam said, handing me my drink and putting his arm over my shoulder. "Can we get out of here now?"

"Stop being so cranky," I said, leaning up to give him a kiss. "Thanks, babe," I added, referring to the drink.

He didn't even acknowledge my thanks, he was so caught up in his crankiness. "I'm just glad that little meeting is over. I hated watching you with him from so far away. He needs to learn his place."

Aww crap. I hadn't even considered the fact that if I did take Will up on this offer, it would involve a lot of one-on-one time, just Will and I. A lot of quality time. Quality time, with a boy who wasn't my boyfriend.

These thoughts came crashing down around me as Adam asked that fateful question: "So, what did Frank want, anyway?"

**A/N: And Chapter 5 comes to a conclusion! What did you guys think? Review and let me know! You got some cute Adam-Darcy moments in there, a little bro-sis luuuv, Adam's sexy jealous side… Anyways, please tell me how you feel :) I love you all and thank you for reading 3 xxxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi there, homies! I know, I know. I suck. Life can get a little busy sometimes, ya know? What are you gonna do. Buuuut I finally have a new chapter for you! Thank you so so so sooooo much to those of you who reviewed, you guys have no idea how amazing it feels to know that there are some people out there who actually want to read this! I love ya'll like crazy, now heres the chapter! Enjoy! **

I pulled Adam to a stop just as we were about to leave the Duck Blind.

"I forgot I have something I need to tell Kenny!" I said, ignoring his question all together for the moment. I needed a minute to think, and this was the first thing I thought of. I ducked out from under Adam's arm and spun around. "I'm sorry, it'll only take a sec!" I looked at him apologetically and shot a look at Jack, too. I was kind of putting her through hell, and I felt bad. She shouldn't have to be so involved in the drama of my personal life, I mean it was only her first day.

"Umm, okay?" Adam said confusedly, but regardless of his suspicion he sat down to wait, and gestured for Jack to take the empty chair. "We'll be waiting," he said with a little smile.

Oh, jeez. Did he have any idea how ominous that sounded to me? I don't know why I've been having such a problem telling Adam things today. Normally I didn't hesitate with anything. Its just that this was really important, and I needed to make a decision for my own reasons.

I walked up behind where Kenny was sitting and tapped him on the back. He looked a little surprised to see me, and a little scared that I was mad at him for snooping. And I was, but I would kill him for that later.

"Hey, Michelle," I said, smiling at Kenny's girlfriend. She gave me a smile and a "hey" back. "Mind if I steal Kenny for a minute?"

"Don't let her do it," Kenny said, looking at Michelle pleadingly. "She's going to kill me."

I laughed, he knew me too well. "I'll beat you up tomorrow. I need to talk to you really quick. Its _important_," I said, giving him a look I hoped he would understand.

He seemed to, because he turned to Michelle with a smile and said, "Well, if I must. I'll be back in a second."

I pulled him over to an empty area and sat down. "Kenny man, we've got a problem," I said seriously.

"Oh, yeah? And what is _our_ problem exactly?" He replied with a smirk.

"Fine, its my problem. But its a big one." I took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "Will asked me to run with him for Senior co-chair."

Kenny opened his eyes wide in surprise, but smiled. "That's awesome, Darce! You should do it. You could definitely win!"

I was taken aback by his enthusiasm. "What? No, this is a problem."

"How is this a problem? You do know all the benefits of being co-chair, right? How could you say no?" Kenny questioned.

I looked at him like he was crazy. "Kenny! You are not helping at all! There are lots of reasons I shouldn't, and I think the biggest one is spelled W-I-L-L."

He rolled his eyes. "Are you sure it isn't A-D-A-M? Darcy, this is a huge opportunity. Yeah, Adam and Will have obvious differences, but you shouldn't let that affect this decision. If you win, you're pretty much guaranteed acceptance into any college. Isn't that reason enough?"

"Well, obviously that is a big part of it. Do I tell him right away? Even though I haven't decided? Or should I think about it and then tell him?"

"Has it ever worked out when you tried to hide something from him?" Kenny said, looking at me knowingly. I didn't respond, so he continued. "Thats what I thought. Tell him, if its the Banks I know he's going to be supportive no matter what you decide."

I sighed and put my face in my hands. Why was Kenny always right? Why does it seem like everyone is always right except for me? "Well, thank you for your input. I really mean that, I'm not being sarcastic," I said to Kenny sincerely, although I did have to punch him after he mumbled "for once" under his breath. "Really though. I should probably get back to Adam, I was just trying to stall for time before telling him."

"Oh, so you _don't_ really value my advice. I see how it is," Ken replied, mock-hurt.

I laughed at him. "Love you. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Kenny really had become one of my best friends, and I loved knowing he would always be there for me. "Bye Darcy, good luck…"

I stuck my tongue out at him and turned around to make my way back to Adam. When I got to the table Jack and Adam looked up from their conversation, presumably something about school. "Ready to go?" I said looking at them expectantly.

"Are _you_ ready?" Adam said, and once again the words sounded ominous considering what I had to tell him. No. I wasn't ready for _that_. "You're the one holding us up." He didn't sound mad, but I knew he was still dying to know what Will and I had talked about.

"Yeah, sorry, I had to pass a long to Kenny some of the information Will gave me," I said smiling at Adam innocently, and dragged his arm back over my shoulders. He relaxed his arm around me and gave me a kiss on the temple. We fell into step as we walked out, with Jack on our side.

"And what information was that exactly?" Adam asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

I paused a beat and looked up at him while we continued to walk. Was now the time? I glanced at Jack, and she was looking at me curiously too. No, now was not the time. "Nothing, just some boring shit for student council. I told you it wasn't going to be a big deal," I lied, smiling at Adam.

If he knew I was lying, he didn't give any indication. He did let out a deep breath and squeeze me a little tighter, as if he had been physically bracing himself for the worst. He turned and looked straight into my eyes, and I held his eye contact as confidently as I could. Shifty eyes would definitely give me away. He looked like he was searching my eyes, for what I don't know, but his eyes softened and he leaned over and kissed me on the forehead.

_I'm going to tell him, _I thought. This wasn't going to be another thing that I let build up until its eating me alive. However, I also didn't want to say it in front of Jack. I would tell her later, but I knew I had to be alone to tell Adam.

As we walked back towards the dorms, I couldn't stop talking. I'm a nervous talker, I always have been, and I could hear myself jabbering about nothing but I could not stop. I was telling Jack about a class I had taken three years ago, for no reason other then that silence makes me uneasy. By the time we got back to the path that separated Adam's dorm from mine, I knew he knew something was up. Damn it. I did this to myself.

Adam paused by the door to his dorm building and looked at me expectantly. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew there was something I wasn't saying. I'm not sure if it was because Jack was there or if he was just going to let me say it in my own time that he didn't say anything. Either way, I felt guilty as hell. I didn't want Adam to think I didn't trust him, I just wasn't sure if I was ready to make a decision.

I stood there, looking back and forth between Adam and Jack, trying to decide my course of action. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could say anything Jack spoke.

"Well, its been a long day. I'm pretty tired so I'm gonna head up to the room. I'll see you in a bit, Darcy," Jack said, with a small smile towards me. Looks like she made my decision for me. "Thanks for the coffee, Adam. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Anytime," Adam said with a kind smile. "Goodnight."

"See you in a few minutes, Jack," I said.

She gave us a small wave and turned to walk into our dorm. I turned back to Adam, who was still looking at me with expectant eyes. I didn't like how much distance was between us, so I took a step closer to him and burrowed into his arms. Even though he was still confused, he didn't question it and hugged me closer. Adam and I have never been big on PDA, aside from our chaste kisses shared throughout the school day, but I had always felt as though we were naturally drawn closer together. In every situation, I felt incomplete if we weren't touching in someway. Even when we were playing hockey, I felt like I could sense where he was anywhere on the ice, even when I couldn't see him. I have seen some couples get less affectionate the longer they were together-Connie and Guy were prime examples of that-but it had never been that way for Adam and I.

I sighed, and pulled back the tiniest bit so I could look at his face. I searched his face for a second, and although he didn't look impatient he looked almost painfully curiously. I sighed again, wondering how I was going to word this.

"Almost ready to tell me whats actually going on?" Adam asked, trying to sound calm. I was probably the only person in the world who could tell that underneath his calm demeanor he was actually a little worried.

I gulped. I was delusional thinking I could conceal anything. "Almost," I said, pulling all the way out of his arms. I grabbed his hand and pulled him around to the back of my dorm building. I sat down on a bench and he sat beside me. It was dark already, so there weren't too many students milling about. A gust of wind made me shiver, which caused Adam to scoot closer and put his arm around me.

"You know, when you do this it just makes me expect the worst," Adam pointed out. He tucked my head under his chin. "Just tell me what happened."

I couldn't see his face from my position but I could imagine what it looked like. "This is different, though," I said. "It's not your reaction I'm nervous for, its that I don't want your reaction to affect my decision."

He pulled my back so I had to look at him. "Decision?" He didn't look angry or upset, just confused. That one obviously threw him off.

"Okay, I'll tell you. But I want you to wait until I'm finished before you say anything," I said, pointing my finger at him. "This is something I have to decide on my own, and although I fully value your opinion I want to do this for my own reasons. Or, you know, not do this," I added as an afterthought.

"I'm listening," he said, looking into my eyes earnestly, "and I hope you know I'm supportive of you no matter what."

I smiled. "Pinky promise?" I asked, holding out my little pinky. Adam and I took pinky promises very seriously. They were law.

"Pinky promise," he replied, hooking his much larger pinky around mine.

I gulped in a large breath of air, held it, and let it out slowly. Might as well just spit it out. "Will asked me if I would run with him for Co-Chairs," I said hurriedly. Adam opened his mouth to say something, and before finding out if he was going to say something negative or positive I put my pointer finger to his lips. He shut his mouth like a good boy, and although he still looked like he wanted to speak he waited patiently.

"I know it would take up a lot of my time, and with hockey and drama and this it might be a little too much to handle. I won't have as much free time, and it'll be a lot of responsibility. But on the other hand, it really is an amazing opportunity. I'll be put in way more opportunities for scholarships and I'm pretty much guaranteed to get into the college of my choice. I think that it might be stupid of me to pass this up," I said all of this kind of rushed, because I didn't want to forget any of the points I had made in my head. Adam was still sitting there, patiently waiting for me to give him the okay to speak. I studied him for a second, noticing he didn't look too shocked. He also didn't look upset, which was a good sign.

"Sooo…" I said, looking at him expectantly. "Talk now."

He waited another beat or two before saying anything. "I think," he began, pausing again to make me squirm, before finishing, "that you would be an amazing Co-Chair. If you decide to do it, I'll be one hundred percent supportive. Hell, I'll be your campaign manager. And if you decide you don't want to do it, I'll be just as supportive. I love you, Darce, and I want you to do what will make you happy."

I was thrown for a second. Jesus Christ, I can be such an idiot sometimes. Adam was _too_ perfect. I felt a tear leak out of my eye. I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his shoulder. Adam, being completely used to the occasional emotional breakdown, reacted by pulling me tighter to him. He kissed me on top of the head and waited for me to calm down.

"I'm sorry," I said, pulling back and wiping my eyes. I smiled at him. "Why are you still with me? You're way too good for me, do you realize that?"

Adam rolled his eyes and smiled. "And you are delusional. But really, Darce, you need to stop hiding things from me. I'm never going to force you to do something you don't want to do, or keep you from doing something that will make you happy."

I sighed. "I know, I don't know what my problem is." I frowned. Sometimes even I don't understand how my mind works. "I still haven't made a decision yet, though. Will wants an answer by Friday."

"Well that gives you all day tomorrow to think about it. This isn't something you should decide right away," Adam said, always the voice of reason.

"I know," I said, with another deep sigh. "I don't think I'll be able to think about much else."

Adam pulled me back into the safety of his arms. "Try not to think about it now, wait until the morning when your mind is clear. I can help you organize the pros and cons. I know how you get when you're over thinking something, you won't get any sleep tonight."

I moved my hands to behind his neck, so I was looking directly into his eyes. "Easier said then done," I whispered. "Can you think of a distraction?"

He didn't even bother to answer, because he knew exactly what I was getting at. He pulled my face to his, and began kissing me passionately. It worked, and soon I wasn't thinking about anything, not Student Counsel, not hockey, definitely not Will Frank. All I could think about was Adam, Adam, Adam. It was moments like these that made me truly realize that I could be happy with Adam for the rest of my life. I would never need anyone else, because there would always be him. As he pulled away from the kiss he put his forehead against mine and looked into my eyes, and I knew he felt the same way. I smiled at him, and pulled him back into a hug.

"I wish I could stay right in this spot for forever," I whispered from my position in his arms. I felt him nod and pull me closer. "But…" I trailed off.

He groaned and loosened his hold on me. "I know, I know," he said grudgingly. He kissed me on the forehead again. "You've got places to go, people to see."

I laughed, "Not exactly. More like I want to apologize to Jack for being such a freak."

"You aren't a freak," Adam said rolling his eyes. "Although you were acting a little freaky at the Duck Blind."

"I know I was! I need to find some way to make it up to her," I said furrowing my eyebrows.

"I was kidding, Darce," Adam said with a smile on his face. "I know for a fact she thinks you're great."

"You're just saying that," I said, but leaned in and gave him one more kiss before standing and pulling him to his feet.

"No, really!" He said, intertwining our fingers as we walked. "We had some time to get to know each other back there, you know. You left us alone for an awfully long time."

I raised an eyebrow at him, and felt one little tiny pang of irrational jealousy. I pushed that thought completely from my mind as we reached the front door to my dorm building. I leaned into him for one last goodnight kiss.

"I love you," I said simply.

"I love you, too. I'll see you in the morning," Adam replied, and gave me one more lingering peck before turning and walking to his own dorm. I stared after him for a sec, smiling to myself, before turning and walking up the stairs to my room.

I trekked it up to the third floor and paused to catch my breath. It was still pretty early, and about half of the doors on the hall were open. The universal dorm symbol for "come on in!" Connie's door was uncharacteristically closed, but I figured either her roommate was sleeping or they weren't in, so I decided not to stop. I would consult my bestie in the morning. I continued down the hall and stopped in front of my door. Jack had hung up a white board, which made me grin to myself. I love these things! I took a couple of seconds to write in a cute little script "Darcy and Jack's Room!" That sure has a nice little ring.

I pushed open the door to find Jack, in her pajamas, leaning up against my bed. She was staring at the pictures on her wall with s kind of sad look on her face. When she saw me walk in. "Oh, sorry!" she said, smoothing out my blankets.

I laughed. "I don't mind! My stuff is your stuff, honestly. Did you really think I'd be mad?"

She let out a relieved giggle. "No, I guess not. Its just that I've never shared a room before, so I don't really know how the boundaries work."

"Well, I've only shared a room with my best friends, so I apologize if I ever get a little over-invasive," I said. "We shared pretty much everything."

"Don't apologize! That sounds really nice, actually. The same goes to you, my stuff is your stuff," Jack said with a kind smile.

"Have I mentioned how stoked I am you're my roommate?" I said, smiling wide. "You're kinda the best."

She laughed and shook her head. "I think I'm the lucky one! Day one and I already made a ton of new friends? Wasn't expecting that."

Now it was my turn to shake my head. "That would have happened regardless of if you met me or not," I said with an eye roll. "Anyway, how was your day? Honestly? You looked a little sad when I walked in."

"My day was great, really! I really enjoyed my classes and all the people I've met. Its just… I miss my friends, you know?" She gave her wall another sad look.

"I totally get it. I don't know what I would do without mine," I said giving her a sympathetic look. "Who's that?" I asked pointing at a picture of her and that boy.

"That's my best friend," she said, smiling slightly. "We've been friends since Kindergarten."

"Aww, thats sweet," I said. "How about everyone else? You know all my friends, I wanna know yours!"

Jack went on to tell me all her friends names and a little bit about each of them. Apparently her group of friends consisted of four boys and four girls, and the eight of them had been an extremely tight-knit group since middle school.

"They must miss you a lot," I said.

Jack gave me another sad smile. "The thousand text messages I received today sure make it feel that way," she said.

"Soooo… no boyfriend?" I said, trying to be subtle.

"Nope," she said, "no boyfriend. It's been a while since I had one of those."

"Maybe this will be your lucky year," I said encouragingly. "Eden Hall has a great number of extremely eligible bachelors!"

Jack laughed. "Yeah, maybe. But how would you know about eligible bachelors? It seems you have eyes for only one."

"While that is indeed true, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate what else is out there, if only for the benefit of my dear friends. Also, three quarters of my friends are single men, sooo…." I said, leaving the sentence hanging. Charlie would kill me if I mentioned his name, but I could at least mentally lead Jack in that direction.

"Good point," Jack said, laughing again.

"By the way, I never apologized for earlier in the Duck Blind. I was being a major spazz and you really didn't need to see all that drama. I feel really bad," I said, shooting her an apologetic look.

"Don't worry about it! It was...interesting," she said, smiling. "I got to get to know Adam a little better, and let me just say that boy would do anything for you." I must have looked a little surprised, did he really say that to her? "He didn't say it," Jack continued as if she could read my mind, "but I could just tell. He is head over heels, whipped."

I laughed loudly. "He is, isn't he?" I said with a smirk and an eye roll to show I was just kidding. "Well theres not usually this much drama in one day. Most days pass without much event at all actually. I really hope this isn't an indicator for the rest of the year…"

"Well, if it is, at least it wont be boring, right?" Jack replied.

I flopped onto my bed face down. No, it sure as hell wouldn't be boring.

**A/N: Well there you go! Another chapter down. Sorry this one was a little shorter then the others, I just really wanted to get something out for you all! Sorry I get a little cheesy at times, but what can I say I'm a sucker for the cheese. Pleeeeease if you read this and loved it or hated it or thought it was okay shoot me a review! It takes like two seconds! Anyway, I'm not gonna lead you all on with a promise of a chapter really soon, because I honestly don't know when I'll be able to get one out. But please please please, don't give up on this story! I'm sure not going to, so have faith in me :) Love you pretty little readers! Talk to you soon! JaneeDohh xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Oh my goodness! I think I'm even more surprised then you guys that I was able to get a chapter out so fast! I mean, fast for me haha I had a sort of epiphany that I am much better at writing this when I should be writing something else...like say, a seven page American Politics essay or something like that… anyways, I digress. The chapter is here for you all to (hopefully) enjoy. SHOUT OUT TO THE AMAZING BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED! You are wonderful, fantastic people who can get a smile on my face like no one else. :) This chapter is a present for ya'll, a thank you present for reading and reviewing and making my life feel worthwhile. This chap is a little longer then the rest, and I really hope you enjoy. :D To the chapter!**

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><p>Once again I was abruptly brought back from Dreamland by the blaring sound of my alarm. I groaned and reached my hand out of my blanket to slap it off. I stayed completely still for another thirty seconds until I realized if I didn't get up right that second I'd never be able to get up. I looked at the time on the clock and realized with a start that it was already seven. Well, looks like no shower for me this morning.<p>

I glanced over and noticed that Jack was already out of bed, presumably showering or something of the sort. I grabbed my bathroom caddy and stumbled my way down the hall to the communal restroom. I hurriedly washed my face and brushed my teeth before running back down the hall to finish getting ready.

I opted for my favorite pair of forrest green corduroy skinny jeans and an oversize white knit sweater. I matched that with my floral pattern Doc Marten boots and my brown school bag. I threw my hair in a sloppy bun and attempted to hide the bags under my eyes with concealer.

As Adam had predicted, I had gotten little to no sleep the night before. This was common for me, to obsess about anything thats on my mind for hours at night, tossing and turning and praying to get my mind off it so I could fall asleep. It felt like I had just gotten my eyes to stay shut when my alarm rang.

Just as I was about to leave, Jack came back from the bathroom completely ready for the day. She was wearing a black, collared, three-quarter sleeve length button down the was made of a sheer material and had silver studs on the collar, paired with blue and white pinstriped skinny jeans and cute black wedge booties. I smiled when I saw her, me and this girl were definitely on the same page when it came to style.

"Ready for breakfast?" she asked with a wide smile.

I yawned. "You sure are perky in the morning," I said but I smiled nonetheless. "Yeah lets go. I need to down a few cups of coffee if I'm going to make it through this day."

We got to the Caf and went to wait in line for food. I grabbed the biggest cup of coffee I possibly could, added a tiny splash of cream and no sugar, just the way I liked it. Adam would be mad if he saw I didn't get any food so I grabbed an apple too, as an after thought.

Jack and I walked over to the table, where most of the Ducks were already inhaling piles of breakfast foods. Adam was sitting down directly across from Charlie, and each of them had one empty space to the side of them. I slid in next to Adam which forced Jack to take the seat next to Charlie, not that either of them seemed upset by this.

"Good morning, beautiful," Adam said, smiling at me. I rolled my eyes, but smiled. Only Adam could make me feel pretty after a sleepless night and practically no time to get ready. "Good morning, Jack," he added, smiling at her too.

"Good morning!" Jack replied enthusiastically. I could barely audibly mutter a "morning."

Adam frowned at me. "Lemme guess, you couldn't sleep?"

I didn't answer for a second because I was too busy sucking down half my cup of coffee in one breath. When I finally paused for air all I could do was nod my head. Adam put his arm around me and I burrowed into his side, closing my eyes. "How long til class?" I asked. "Enough time for me to take a quick nap?"

"Fifteen minutes," Charlie said. "So ten until we should leave for class."

I groaned, but kept my eyes closed. "I'll take what I can get."

I don't think I actually fell asleep but I was so zoned out I missed the conversation of my table companions. It felt like no time had passed before Adam kissed me on the head and told me it was time for class. I groaned again loudly, opened my eyes and hurried to down the rest of my coffee. I grabbed my uneaten apple and stuck it in my purse for later. I stood up, as did Charlie, Adam, and Jack, and all of us began to make our way to class. The caffeine was finally starting to kick in as we were walking, thank goodness, and I was beginning to function like a normal human being.

As we got to the door for AP Lit, I heard Charlie promise to meet Jack after class so they could walk to their next one together. I shot Adam a huge knowing smile but he just laughed and rolled his eyes at me. While Jack walked back to our table in the back of the classroom, I walked over to Adam's table with him. Thompson wasn't here yet, so I was going to use this as an opportunity for a tiny bit of showing off. I know it was infantile, but hey, it made me feel better.

Adam sat down in his seat, and I plopped down on his lap. "So, in order to make this already dismal day run a bit more smoothly, I'm not thinking about this whole Co-Chair ordeal until after hockey. Can we talk about it then?" I asked Adam, playing with the hair at the back of his neck.

"Sure, Darce, whatever you want," Adam said with an encouraging smile. I kissed him on the forehead. At that moment, I heard someone walk up behind us and clear their throat. I turned my head to look, and it was none other then my favorite person ever, Rebecca Thompson.

She was scantily clad, wearing an extremely short plaid mini skirt and a low cut v-neck sweater that her boobs were literally spilling out of. I gave her one glance before rolling my eyes and scoffing at her. She was ridiculous, but no way was I letting her get to me again.

"Hey Adam," she said, smiling in a way she probably hoped was sexy. "And good morning to you, Conway. Oh, Darce, your hair looks great, and really you can barely see those dark circles under your eyes! I am starting to understand why its referred to as beauty sleep, though," she added in a fake innocent voice, smirking and hoping her comment would get an overreaction out of me.

Adam's arms tightened around me angrily, but I just smiled back sweetly and replied, "Thanks, Bex, I did do a good job didn't I?" I heard Adam stifle a chuckle, covering it up with a clearing of his throat. "By the way, I just love your breasts. How much did those cost?" I said in the most innocent voice I could muster.

This time, Adam couldn't cover his laughter and let out a loud snort. Rebecca turned bright red, shot me the most evil glare, and opened her mouth to speak. Before she could, however, our teacher announced from the front of the room that it was time for class to begin and everyone needed to take their seats. I gave Adam a quick but pointed kiss on the lips and ran away to my seat in the back. I noticed happily that Rebecca sat down without looking at Adam. She did shoot me one murderous glare, however.

Jack murmured to me, "What just happened?"

I smiled at her. "Just showing Thompson where she stands with me," I replied with a wink.

The class passed eventlessly, and the homework being to read the first five chapters of Pride and Prejudice by tomorrow. Grrrreat.

At the bell Adam practically ran over to us. I heard Thompson behind him, saying "Adam! Wait!"

Adam grabbed my hand and muttered, "Lets go!" and basically pulled me out of the classroom. When we made it safely down the hallway he relaxed, although he did continue to glance over his shoulder repeatedly. I laughed at the look on his face and said, "Have a good class, babe?"

He glared at me. "No. She was fucking pissed, Darcy."

I laughed again. "Good."

Adam sighed and pulled me under his arm. "Seriously though. If we thought she was persistent before, that was nothing. She was practically throwing herself at me for the past hour."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not letting her get to me anymore, remember? If she's gonna step it up, then so will I."

Adam scoffed at me. "I'm pretty convinced that this isn't even about me anymore, this is purely a blood bath between you and her."

"That's probably true," I replied, "but you started it."

We had been joined by a bunch of other Ducks at that point, I hadn't even noticed Charlie and Jack chatting up off to the side. God they were so cute, I loved it. I realized for the first time that I hadn't seen Connie all day, but I figured I would just talk to her at lunch or in drama.

The bell rang signaling that it was time to get to our next classes. I told Adam I would see him at lunch and went to join Julie to walk to our next class. I waved bye to Charlie and Jack as I passed and winked at Charlie when Jack wasn't looking. He scowled and held up a very offensive finger, which just resulted in making me laugh. I knew my brother a little to well.

My next two classes passed, boring, standard. As was to be expected. I made my way to lunch with Ave and Dwayne, and we joined Adam, Kenny, Fulton, Portman, Russ, and Luis who were already sitting. I had a plate piled high with food and another coffee because I was once again starting to feel that sleepless night. I squeezed in between Adam and Kenny so I was in the middle of the guys.

Just as I was about to take a big bite of pizza, Kenny said loudly, "So you make a decision yet, Darce?"

I was about to slap my hand over his mouth to shut him up, but the damage had already been done. Although I had told a select few so far-Adam, Kenny, Jack, and Julie-I still wanted to tell Charlie and Connie on their own before I told the rest of the guys. I probably wouldn't even have told them until after I decided one way or another. The Ducks are a strongly opinionated bunch, and I didn't think I could listen to everything they had to say without my brain spontaneously combusting. All of the guys sitting around me stopped to listen as soon as Kenny had said that, and I knew they weren't going to let this slide.

I shot Kenny a death glare. Russ was the one who broke the silence.

"Well?" He asked. "Aren't you going to tell us what your deciding on?"

I groaned and put my hands over my eyes and my head on the table. I heard Adam mutter 'way to go Kenny' and smack him on the back of his head. Kenny let out a small yelp, but I think he realized he messed up. Adam rubbed soothing circles into my back.

I didn't take my head off the table but I muttered, "I'm thinking of running for Co-Chair."

The boys were quiet for a sec, then Dwayne whispered loudly, "What'd she say?"

I groaned again even louder and lifted my head up. "I'm thinking of running for Co-Chair. I haven't decided yet though and I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't all bombard me with questions and comments."

They paused for another beat or two, before they all started talking at once.

"You can't do that, what about hockey-"

"Who are you running with? Are you running alone?"

"Do it Darce, you'll win and then you can change the Caf menu!"

"Please don't do this to us. We don't need anymore dweebs on the team."

I couldn't even tell who was saying what. All I knew was that my head was literally going to explode. By that time, everyone else had gotten to the table. They're questions of what was going on just added to the commotion, and I knew if I didn't get out right then I was gonna have a break down. So, I got up and walked away.

As much as I loved my Ducks, they could really get on my last nerve sometimes.

The commotion got louder as everyone realized that I was walking away. I heard Adam stand up and yell, so he could be heard over the ruckus, "If anyone of you follows her or says one more _word_ about this to her I will personally kick your ass, I mean it." That pretty effectively shut everyone up, at least from what I could tell because by then I was far enough away that I was out of earshot. As I was about to leave the Caf I realized that Adam was following me, holding both our trays of food.

"Where are you taking those, exactly?" I questioned, trying to pretend I wasn't about to have a panic attack. I was trying to take deep breaths but I had that feeling where you know you're about to burst into tears even though theres no real reason why.

"Come on, lets have a picnic. You need to get away from them for a while," Adam said, grabbing my hand and pulling me out to the lawn.

It was a bright and sunny day, although there were the tell-tale signs of winter approaching and it was clear that it wouldn't be this nice for long. Adam put the trays down on the ground before laying out his jacket for us to sit on. I cuddled up with Adam as we sat still for a minute, soaking up some delicious sun rays and concentrating on taking deep, slow breaths. After a minute or two of silence Adam kissed me on the head and said, "You okay?"

I sighed and although I still had a pounding headache I answered, "Yeah. Thats just literally exactly the opposite of how I wanted that to happen."

"Those guys can be so thick sometimes," Adam said, shaking his head. "They don't know they meaning of the phrase 'back the fuck off.'"

"This probably would have been much easier to handle if I had slept at all last night. My head feels like its caving in," I said, wincing in pain. "I wish I could skive off the rest of my classes and go take a nap but unfortunately thats not an option… I don't think I can make it to hockey."

"Maybe you should ditch. Go to the infirmary, sleep off your headache, and be ready for action by the time hockey rolls around," Adam suggested reasonably.

"But its only the second day of class, I shouldn't miss already," I pointed out.

"But its only the second day of class, what truly important information are you going to miss out on?" Adam counteracted.

He was right, of course, and nothing sounded as amazing right now as a nice cozy bed. I had Ducks in all my classes who could get me the work, and the nurse would write me a pass.

"Okay, you're right. And as much as I enjoyed this picnic I think I'm going to ditch you, too," I said. "Sleep is what I need, now."

Adam chuckled. "Okay, Darce. I love you, I'll see you at practice."

I kissed him quickly before practically running to the infirmary. I told the nurse about my lack of sleep and my headache, so she handed me some painkillers and all but pushed me into the bed. It was surprisingly comfortable for an infirmary bed, and I was asleep before I could count backwards from ten.

I had set an alarm for ten minutes before I needed to be at hockey practice, and as usual I was jarringly brought back to this dimension. I sat up and stretched. I was groggy, but I felt about 3 million times better. My headache was gone, and I felt like I could walk without passing out in a heap on the floor. I got my excusal note from the nurse, thanked her and left.

When I got to the locker room, everyone was already there. It got really quiet when I walked in, as I expected. Everyone was just staring at me, waiting to see if I was mad.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, before reluctantly letting out a big smile. "You guys are such idiots," I announced as I walked over to my locker.

Everyone laughed and I received a few slaps on the back as I walked by. Adam was smiling at me from across the room, and I winked back at him. Kenny came up to me, shuffling his feet and looking pretty guilty.

"DJ, I'm sorry," Kenny said, looking me in the eyes. "I didn't even think about what I was doing."

"It's all good Kennyman," I said with a smile. "I was over tired and thats why I reacted like that. Normally I would have just been regular-annoyed."

Kenny smiled. "Thanks for not hating me. By the way, Ms. Faye passed out a list of all the information we need for elections, so I picked one up for you. I explained where you were and she said it was fine as long as you don't make a habit of it."

"Thanks Ken!" I said, grabbing the paper from him. "Campaigning starts on Monday? So soon," I said worriedly.

"Don't worry about it, Darce, we've got the weekend to do everything we need to do."

I nodded, knowing he was right. And I guess I would know either way by tomorrow what I was even going to do!

Kenny left me alone then to get ready for practice. Suspiciously, not one of the guys had said anything to me about running for Co-Chair. I suspected Adam had threatened them again. I knew there was a reason I loved that boy.

I glanced around the room looking for Connie, but she must have already been on the ice because I couldn't find her anywhere. "Hey, Guy," I yelled across the room. "Is Connie out there already?"

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I, um, don't know," he replied. "I haven't talked to her at all today."

"What?" I said, shocked. "Why? What happened?"

"We got in a fight last night and kinda broke up…" he answered, looking appropriately upset. I rolled my eyes. Those two were more off and on then a light switch.

Oddly enough I also hadn't talked to Connie all day. Now that I knew what happened between her and Guy, I felt pretty guilty about it. How had so much happened since the last time I saw her? I resolved that her and I would have a nice long talk after hockey.

When everyone got out to the ice, Orion split us into two teams for a scrimmage. It was me, Luis, Fulton, Kenny, Guy, Dwayne, and Goldberg against Adam, Connie, Charlie, Portman, Averman, Russ, and Julie. I tried to make eye contact with Connie from across the rink but she was not looking at me at all. I sighed and squared up to play.

It was a good game, a really good game. Guy won the initial face-off against Adam, and I think it kinda threw him because the first third his game was a little off. He was starting to get angry with himself, I could tell, and this was having an even more negative effect. Coach had us treat this like a real game so I couldn't talk to him during the breaks.

On the opposite end, I was having a great game. I scored two against Julie, which was a personal record for me. Julie was the best goalie out there, that was for damn sure. By the end, we were tied four to four, and Adam had yet to score. This was so unlike him it was making me nervous. I wonder if something happened?

There were ten seconds on the clock, all tied up, and our side was in possession of the puck. Connie was on D, and I saw her skating up the ice to block Fulton's shot. I rushed over to her and attempted to get in front of her to stop her, but I was going too fast and I couldn't stop. Before I realized what had happened, I had knocked Connie flat on her back and I was on top of her. I heard the cheering that signified Fulton had made his shot, and our team won.

This kind of thing happens fairly often during practice, so I was laughing as I moved to get off Connie. A few guys came over to help us up, and once we were safely standing Connie pulled her helmet off.

"What the hell, Darcy?!" Connie said, shooting me an angry glare.

I was taken aback. "I'm sorry? Are you okay? I was just going a little fast," I said, trying stay calm. I was mostly confused, why was she so mad? It's not like it really hurt with all those pads on.

"I didn't realize winning was so important to you that you would plow down your best friend," Connie said sneering at me. "If we're even still best friends."

My mouth dropped open in shock. I looked around, and the faces of my teammates were all pretty similar. Cat was standing looking between us with a worried look on her face, and Adam had his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Orion was skating over to see what all the commotion was about. Charlie looked like he was getting ready to intervene, but he was holding back.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, completely bewildered. "We play hockey for christ's sake, you're going to get knocked over sometimes."

"You really think this is about that?!" Connie yelled. "If you really don't know, then I guess we really aren't best friends."

"Alright everyone break it up!" Coach finally decided to jump in. "Off the ice, now. JV practice is about to start here in five minutes and we need to be gone."

Connie scowled and rolled her eyes at me before skating away to the locker room without saying another word. I looked around at the guys around me, who all had varying degrees of confusion on their faces.

"Can anyone enlighten me about what just happened?" I asked, still bewildered as to what had just transpired. I knew Connie could be dramatic, but this was a different story.

Everyone just shrugged and made their way to the locker room.

Charlie hung back. "Did you and Connie get in a fight or something?" he asked me, looking concerned.

"Not that I know of!" I said exasperatedly. "I haven't even spoken to her today. I don't fucking get it." I furrowed my brow and sat down. Connie being angry at me had made me angry right back at her, and the stupidest part is I don't even know what we're fighting about.

"Maybe you should go talk to her," Charlie suggested, sitting down next to me.

I humphed and crossed my arms, looking like a stubborn little kid. "Why should I have to go talk to her? She's the one who should apologize to me, she just totally blew up for no reason," I said angrily.

Charlie ran his fingers through his hair nervously. "Darce, its Connie. You've been best friends since we were five. One of you is going to have say something first."

Just then, the JV hockey team filed in for practice. "Well, then, lets hope she does," I said, standing up and walking to the locker room. Charlie followed out behind me.

The guys had all showered and were in varying degrees of clothing, and Connie and Julie were already gone. I should probably try talking to Julie, she probably knows whats going on.

When I was finally ready I walked out of the locker room, and noticed Adam sitting on a bench. He looked distracted, and he had his brow furrowed like he was mad. He looked up at me and blinked when I sat down next to him, obviously he hadn't seen me coming.

"Hi," I said, but he wasn't really looking at me, he still looked really distracted. "You okay?" I asked worriedly.

He finally made eye contact with me and his glare softened a little, but he still had a worry crease between his eyebrows. "Yeah," he answered, but there was something underlying there. I gave him a pointed look, and he added, "Just thinking about practice."

And it started to make sense. Adam was a perfectionist when it came to hockey. Sure, he had a ridiculous amount of natural talent, but still, he had to work really really hard. He was harder on himself then any coach, even more then his strict father who was _extremely_ hard on him. I know he was beating himself up over his sloppy (by _his_ standards) game. I wanted to roll my eyes, to tell him he was being ridiculous and that he was the best player on the team. But, I've dealt with this before and I knew that wasn't the right approach to this. So, I stood up, grabbed his hand, and started pulling him back towards his dorm.

Adam unlocked his door and his room was thankfully empty. It was almost comical how obvious it was which side of the room was Adam's. The bed was made, the clothes were all put away, and his desk was neatly organized. Portman's side, on the other hand, was in complete disarray, bed unmade and clothes everywhere. It was funny because my own room was more similar to Portman's side, but I guess thats one of things that showed how perfectly Adam and I balance each other out.

Adam plopped down on his bed face down after throwing his bags unceremoniously on the floor. I set my own stuff down, kicked off my shoes, and scrambled up next to him. He wasn't talking at all, but I knew that if I pressured him to talk it would make him even more reluctant. I knew he just wanted me to be there, so thats what I did. I laid on my side facing him and played with his hair while I waited patiently for him to say something.

After sitting in that position for a couple of minutes in silence, Adam rolled over so he was on his side facing me. "I had a talk with coach before practice, before you got there," Adam said, finally opening up.

"Yeah? Did he have anything interesting to say?" I asked, trying to gently probe without forcing him to talk.

"He said that there would be scouts at the first game, which of course I was expecting, but more specifically there were about five schools coming just to see _me. _He said _Harvard_ was going to be here," Adam said, looking me in the eyes and making me understand everything at once. Harvard was Adam's dad's alma mater and he had been pressuring Adam to go there all his life. "So basically, I totally choked during practice because it was all I could think about and I'm totally gonna choke at the game and I'm definitely going to screw up my entire future."

I waited a second to say anything because I wanted to give him a chance to calm down. They say actions speak louder then words, so I bridged the tiny bit of distance between us and pulled Adam into a comforting hug. He burrowed himself deep into my arms and just stayed there for a while. I loved being able to comfort Adam just as much as he comforted me, it reminded me that this relationship really does go both ways.

"Adam," I said softly. "It's gonna be okay. You're an _amazing _player. Any school would be so lucky to have you. You're going to play wonderfully at the game next week because you _know _you can do it. _I _know you can do it. You're going to get offers from a bunch of different schools, and Harvard is one of them, thats great! But if they're not, Adam, its not the end of the world."

Adam scoffed a little bit. "Try telling that to my dad. He's been pounding that into my brain since I could talk."

"But is that what _you _want? Its your life, Adam, you're going to have to make decisions for yourself," I said, trying to sound reasonable. I was also trying to _not_ talk smack on his dad, which I knew he wouldn't appreciate.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems that had arisen in our relationship was that his father was a little less then approving of us. Of course, over the years he has come to tolerate it. However, I had accidentally overheard enough conversations about me being "a distraction," "not what Adam needs right now," and (my personal favorite) "just a silly little girl." I was always perfectly polite, never rude and definitely never "silly" in front of Mr. Banks, but I guess he had some sort of complex against Adam having a girlfriend. I know he just wanted Adam to succeed, but it honestly hurt a little sometimes. And sometimes it hurt more than a little. On the upside, his mother adored me and was almost always on our side when Adam and his father fought about us. I hated it when they fought about me, but Adam had made it very clear to his dad that I wasn't going anywhere.

Adam flopped onto his back so he was no longer looking at me but at the ceiling. "I… honestly don't know. I know thats what I'm supposed to want, but…" he sighed. "The future just seems like one big blur right now, its hard to see past it. I just really don't know."

I knew exactly what he meant. Thinking past today was hard enough, how could I possibly imagine what I would want a year from now? "Luckily, nothing has to be decided right here and now," I said, scooching closer and putting my head on his chest. He snaked his arm around me and held me tight. "You just have to do your best, and everything else is going to work out like its supposed to."

He kissed me on the head, and I tilted my head up so I could get a real one. It was a slow kiss, and I could practically taste the insecurity and doubt. He leaned his forehead against mine and said, "God I really hope you're right."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Woop woop! Chapter seven down! I know there's kind of a lot going on in this chapter , but I've kinda been setting things up for more storyline down the road. I will try to have another chapter up as soon as possible, but no guarantees about when that will be! I love you all for reading, and please please please review. Your opinions mean a lot to me :) Thanks guys! xxxxJanee**


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Alright, readers, here it is! Chapter 8! Better late then never, right? Anyways, sorry bout it, but sometimes life gets in the way. And dontcha worry, even if it seems like I'm never coming back, I will! I not give up on this story. :) THANK YOU THANK YOU to all y'all out there who reviewed, it makes me so happy to know that there are people who like this story! Now, onto the reason you're here! Enjoy the chapter! xx

I gave him a kiss on each cheek before sitting up. "I am always right," I said confidently, shooting him a wink. This caused him to laugh, mission accomplished. I started to scooch off the bed and made to put my shoes back on.

Adam sat up a little bit and propped himself up on his elbows. "And where do you think you're going?"

"I have homework to do," I replied, smiling at the faux-pouty look on his face. "Not to mention I have to find Charlie and Con-I mean, Goldie to see what I missed in my classes." The little slip up made me frown.

"Wait, wait, before you go, tell me what happened there?" Adam said, my stumble reminding him of what had happened at practice earlier.

I sat back down next to him. "I don't even know. I really don't," I said, shaking my head exasperatedly. "This is so Connie, to explode for no reason and not even tell me whats going on. Frankly, I'm fed up with her crap."

"Darce, she is your best friend," Adam said. "If you just go talk to her, you can probably work it out in no time."

"She freaked out on me, I don't understand why everyone's acting like I'm the one who has to do the fixing," I said, crossing my arms and acting stubborn. It was true though. Connie was always being the drama queen and just expects everyone else to fix everything for her when she gets over it. Yeah, she was my best friend, but maybe she should put in a little effort to work things out for once.

"Well, if she has any sense at all, she'll get over it quickly and be begging you to forgive her," Adam said.

I gave him a sad little smile. "I hope so," I replied. Because, despite my stubborn facade, this really did hurt. Just like Adam and Charlie had said, she's my best friend.

I tried to stand up to leave again, but Adam grabbed my arm and pulled me back for a goodbye kiss. Which ended up being multiple goodbye kisses, which ended up being a full-blown make-out sesh. Only Adam could make me forget what I was doing in three seconds flat.

And of course, just when things started heating up, Adam's door opened. Adam and I broke apart to see not one, not two, but six Ducks standing in the doorway. Portman, Fulton, Luis, Russ, Julie and Charlie were standing there with varying degrees of amusement and horror etched on their faces.

"Please, don't stop on our account," Luis said with a pervy smile on his face. "Really, it was just getting good."

"Please, stop, forever," Charlie countered, covering his eyes. "Banks, you know you're one of my best friends, but if you don't get your hands off my sister right now I'm going to have to kick your ass."

I rolled over so I was no longer on top of Adam and rolled my eyes at Charlie. "Lu, you're a sicko. You know, Charlie, that threat kinda lost its sting a couple of years ago."

Charlie teased us plenty but I know that deep down, he was happy I was with Adam rather than some other random guy. My brother knew Adam would never do anything to hurt me.

"Yeah, well, just please do whatever you do somewhere I can't see next time?" Charlie asked, glaring at me a little.

"Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes again and looking around at the guys. "You do realize this is his room right?"

Charlie shrugged and him and the rest of the guys made their way into the room like they owned the place. Julie shot me a sympathetic look, and I giggled remembering what had happened in this very room just a few days before. Adam and I sat up so there would be space for the others to sit on the bed, too, and everyone made themselves comfortable.

"Alright, guys, tomorrow's the first Friday night of senior year and you know what that means…" Portman began with an excited look on his face.

"We're going to study for our Spanish quiz on Monday?" Julie suggested teasingly.

Portman shot her an unamused look. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."

I was now bouncing up and down with excitement. "I totally forgot! End of Summer Forrest Party!" It was an Eden Hall tradition, usually put on by the Varsity football team, to throw a huge rager the first weekend of school. It took place in the woods behind the school, and it was always a shit-show, to put it lightly. In the best possible way.

"Thank you!" Portman said, pointing at me and shooting Julie an exasperated look that made her laugh. "As usual, Fulton and I will be going on a major alcohol run after school tomorrow. Get ready to get weird!" Everyone was looking excited now. "Any beverage preferences?" Portman asked looking at us.

"Whiskey whiskey whiskey," I said, still bouncing excitedly.

"I second that!" Charlie said, giving me a fist bump-point.

Adam looked a little nervous for a sec. "Are you sure? You guys know how you get when you drink whiskey…"

I laughed. "Yeah, we get buck wild. Thats kinda the point." Everyone laughed and made noises of agreement.

"Okay, okay, I'm down," Adam said faux-reluctantly. "As long as I don't have to play mommy for whoever's barfing their brains out." He looked at me mock accusingly.

I laughed. "No one is going to need a mommy," I said, shoving him playfully. "I'm so stoked! We have to show Jack a real good time so she thinks we're cool," I added, winking at Charlie.

Charlie's face turned pink when the guys started whistling at him.

"Yeah, Cap, gotta show her you're not some blushing geek," Russ ribbed. Charlie threw one of my shoes that was still laying on the ground at him.

"Okay, subject change," Charlie said, wanting to get the topic off of him. "Has anyone talked to Guy or Connie today?" I shot a glare at Charlie. Thanks for that, bro.

"Guy was acting perfectly normal all day," Fulton threw in. "Besides the fact that he wasn't talking to Con, I wouldn't have even figured out they broke up."

"Well, I talked to Connie after practice…" Julie said.

"You did?! What did she say?" I asked eagerly. "I mean, not that I care." I added, trying to sound flippant, although I'm sure no one fell for it.

"Wanna walk back to Burke with me? I should get started on my homework anyways," Julie said, subtly trying to get us alone.

"Yeah, that sounds good," I said, getting up to search for my thrown shoe.

"Come on, anything you ladies talk about can be said in front of us," Russ said, and the other guys nodded their heads in agreement.

Julie and I looked at each other for a beat, then busted up laughing.

"Yeah, right," we said at the same time, which just had us laughing even harder. We gathered our things, kissed our boyfriends good bye, and promised we would meet everyone for dinner at six.

I linked my arms with Julie's as we walked out of the room. We stayed silent for a couple of moments until I finally cracked and spoke first. "So… are you going to tell me what she said?" I asked, trying not to sound too eager.

Julie rolled her eyes at me. "I'll tell you what she said when you admit that this is really bothering you. I'm not falling for that whole 'not caring' crap," Julie said, giving me a pointed look.

Damn it. I knew no one was buying it. "Fine, I care," I said exasperatedly. "I'm just sick of Princess Connie throwing bitch fits and expecting me to know why she's upset. Best friends are supposed to tell each other when they're upset, not explode at me in front of everyone."

"Now I'm not standing up for her or taking sides, but she did have a pretty rough day," Julie started.

"So did I!" I interrupted. "That's still no excuse for lashing out at your best friend."

"I know its not," Julie reasoned calmly. "And I'm not condoning the way she handled things. However, you have to try and look at it from her side for a minute. She broke up with Guy, and yeah it happens all the time but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. She was avoiding the Ducks all day so she wouldn't have to face him."

"No wonder I didn't see her… but if she was the one avoiding everyone, why is she so mad?" I asked, still confused as to where this was going.

"Well, I think she feels a little abandoned. Yeah, she was shutting herself out. But she felt like no one even knew she was gone. She's most upset that you didn't even look for her."

I paused while I absorbed what Jules was saying. "I'm sorry that my world doesn't revolve around her," I said stubbornly. "I still don't think I'm the one who is in the wrong here."

Julie sighed. "Fair enough. She also seemed pretty upset that you're running for co-chair and you didn't even tell her."

"But I don't even know if I'm running yet!" I said exasperatedly. "I'm not going to apologize. If Connie has something she wants to talk to me about, then that's fine. But I'm not going to go find her and say sorry for living my own life."

By this point, we reached my room. I burst dramatically through the door and flopped down on the bed. Julie followed in behind me much more gracefully. Jack was sitting on her bed watching with an amused look on her face.

"Does she get like this a lot?" Jack asked Julie jokingly, motioning to me in a disheveled heap on the bed.

"More often then is strictly necessary, yes," Julie replied with an eye roll.

"Oh, shut up, both of you," I said, sitting up and glaring at them. "It has been a long and troublesome day."

"What happened to you today? You disappeared," Jack said, looking a little concerned.

I groaned. "Its a long, irrelevant story, but the gist of it is that my life is full of a whole lot of unnecessary drama. My woe of the moment is that my best friend hates me, but hey, its all in a days work."

"Connie's mad at you?" Jack asked with a confused look on her face. "Why?"

"Apparently I don't pay enough attention to her, or some shit like that," I replied with an eye roll.

"C'mon, Darce," Julie said. "You know that's not completely fair."

"What happened to not taking sides, Jules?" I said, a little snappier then intended.

Julie shot me a look, one of those looks you really don't ever want to get from the Cat. "I'm not taking sides," she said, standing up from where she was seated at my desk. "Both you and Connie are acting like kids, like always, and I'm somehow in the middle, like always, and frankly I'm getting kinda over it. I'm just trying to be a good friend, but you guys make it really hard sometimes."

Julie turned to the door, and I got up from my bed. "Jules, wait," I said guiltily. "I'm sorry. You're right. You shouldn't have to be in the middle of this. I don't want you to have to chose sides."

Julie sighed. "It's fine, Darcy. I just hope you work it out soon. I've gotta go finish my homework. I'll see you at dinner." And with that she left.

I laid back down on my bed and groaned loudly. "This day is getting better and better," I said. "I'm just so on edge and its making me lash out at everyone." I turned towards Jack. "Please, if I say something rude don't take it to heart. I'm bitchy when I'm tired."

Jack laughed. "I'll remember that, don't worry," she said with a mock-serious face.

I laid there, staring up at the ceiling. The school started less then 48 hours ago and honestly, nothing is going how I planned. Where is my perfect senior year?

"I think its time for me to lower my standards," I said out loud. "I mean, okay, maybe this won't be 'the best year ever.' That doesn't mean it can't still be awesome, right?"

"That sounds like pretty sound logic to me," Jack replied with a smile.

We settled into a comfortable silence. I was distracted, still thinking about how I was going to deal with my mess of a life, when a knock on the door brought me back to reality. Jack stood up to answer it.

"Oh," she said, sounding a little surprised. "Hey, Connie."

I sat straight up like I had been shocked. "Hey, Jack," she replied. "Is Darcy here?"

I stood up and walked over to the door. "Yeah, I'm here. Do you need something?" I replied, pretty sassily. Jack slowly retreated back to her bed.

Connie sighed and crossed her arms. "Can we talk?" she said, but she didn't really sound apologetic at all.

I looked back at Jack, who just shrugged, so I reluctantly opened the door wider for her to enter. "So now you want to talk. Oookay," I said, some of the bitterness leaking through. "I thought your mode of communication was to make a scene, but I guess we could try that."

She rolled her eyes at me and scowled. "I'm not here to apologize if thats what you're thinking."

Of course not. "Then why are you here, exactly?"

"I don't know if you know what I went through today-" she started.

"I think I'm aware," I said, interrupting her. "And I don't think it really justifies your actions."

She glared at me. "Honestly, I don't know why I came over here. I should've known you wouldn't even listen to me," she said heatedly. "You never do. As soon as you see something one way, you're so freaking stubborn about it."

"Oh, I'm stubborn? Let's talk about Princess Connie for a second. You do realize that my life doesn't revolve around you, right? I had a rough day too, not that you even bothered to figure that out," I replied just as angrily. I was starting to get even more mad. Who does she think she is, waltzing in here expecting me to fall to her feet and apologize? "I don't have anything to be sorry for."

"How about being sorry for ignoring your best friend all day? And of course, lets not forget about you running for co-chair and not even bothering to tell me about it!" Connie was one of those people who cries when they're mad, and I knew from years of experience that the water works were on their way.

"Did you really come over here to yell at me about this? You don't even know what you're fucking talking about," I crossed my arms in an attempt to calm down. "I don't even know whats happening yet!"

"Well, you managed to tell everyone else before you told me, so its good to know where I fall on your priority list," she said, looking pretty hurt. She switched right back to mad real fast though.

"I don't even know what your problem in, Con," I said. "I really don't."

"Well, I'm not going to apologize for being upset. I just lost my boyfriend and now I'm going to lose my best friend, too." And with that, the tears began.

"Jesus christ, Connie," I said, trying not to let her tears get to me. But, as much as she was pissing me off at this moment, she's still my best friend, and her tears made me feel guilty. "Connie, come on, stop."

"You know what, why don't you just go back to hanging out with your new best friend and your perfect boyfriend and living your perfect life," she said, trying (and failing) to control herself.

"If you even bothered to talk to me, instead of just blowing up, you would know that my life is far from perfect at the moment," I said exasperatedly. "Nothing is going right."

"Well I guess that makes two of us," she said. "I'm gonna go. I don't know what I was trying to accomplish by coming over here in the first place."

She turned to leave, and I let out a big sigh. "Connie… wait," I said. "What are we even fighting about?"

She paused. "I… I guess I don't really know."

I rolled my eyes, but it was followed by a little smile. "Then what are we doing here? You are my best friend, regardless of whatever you think happened today. Neither of us feels like we need to apologize… so can we just call it an impasse and leave it at that? I think… I think both of us could use a best friend right now."

She looked at me, then burst into a fresh round of tears. "Yeah, can we do that?" And with that she rushed up to me and gave me a huge hug. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay? I know this is my fault. I don't even know what my problem is right now. Its like I'm trying to push everyone away."

I squeezed her back, burying my face into her shoulder. "I'm sorry, too. I should have looked for you today. But today was just… crazy," I said. "You know you're more then my best friend, right? You're my sister. I could never stay mad at you."

"Same here," she replied, sniffling. "You know how I get when I'm emotional. I don't use any reason. Everything feels like a personal attack."

"Yeah, I know," I said pulling away from the hug. "I'm here for you, always. Next time can we just talk before you go exploding at me in front of everyone?"

"Deal," she said with a little giggle, wiping her eyes.

I turned towards Jack, who was watching us with a look of slight amusement on her face. "I'm sorry, Jack," I said. "You've only been here two days, and how many emotional break downs have you witnessed so far?"

She waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Is it weird that I'm already used to it?"

I laughed. "Oh jeez, I'm the worst roommate ever. You were probably hoping for smooth sailing this year… I'm sorry but I don't think that will be possible living with me."

"Honestly, I don't mind. I like that you guys feel comfortable enough to talk in front of me," she said with a shrug and a little smile.

"That's because you're already one of us!" Connie said, smiling at her. "An honorary Duck!"

"Its true, whether you like it or not…" I said. "The good news is, someone will always have your back. Once a Duck, always a Duck."

Jack smiled hugely. "You guys are basically the best, honestly."

Connie and I looked at each other and smiled wickedly, before turning and attacking Jack in a group hug. "Did I mention we also like to hug?" I said.

Jack hugged us back, laughing. "Really, you guys have made this first week so much easier then I thought it would be!"

We separated, all of us settling down on Jack's bed. "So, are you guys looking forward to the party tomorrow?!" I asked, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Party?" Jack said, looking confused.

"Party!" I responded. "One of the best parties of the year! Its in the woods behind school, and everyone is going to be there. Fult and Port are buying a ton of alcohol, and there will probably be loads there too. Everyone gets crazy!"

"Sounds awesome! I'm so there," Jack said with a huge grin.

"A party is exactly what I need right now," Connie said with a sigh. "I've got to look super hot, because I need to remind Guy exactly what he's missing."

"What are you two fighting about anyways?" I asked curiously. I never did here that story.

"Ugh, you know Guy. He's always doing something to piss me off," Connie replied with an eye roll. "He was going on and on about some hot new teacher, did he really expect me to not get mad at that? And of course that was just the beginning of the fight, like always. I'm expecting that he'll realize he's wrong and be crawling back by Sunday at the latest. Probably Saturday though, as long as I'm looking all kinds of sexy tomorrow." She winked.

I laughed. "You two are crazy! But he loves you, he always has, so I'd be surprised if you both aren't over it by tomorrow."

"You're right," Connie said, getting a dreamy look on her face. "He's an idiot, but he's my idiot. I don't think we could ever break up for real."

"I had the pleasure of having lunch with all the guys today, since neither of you were there, and I know for a fact that Guy is already trying to figure out the best way to get you back," Jack said with a big smile.

Connie laughed again. "That's good to hear. I definitely have to make him sweat for another day or two though, can't have him thinking I'm sitting around waiting for him!"

"Of course not," I said, giving Connie an encouraging pat on the back. All three of us bursted out laughing.

Jack looked at her watch. "Hey, its almost six. Did you guys wanna head down to dinner?"

My stomach growled loudly at her words. "Oh my god, yes!" I answered. "I just realized that I have eaten absolutely nothing except for coffee today."

"Good news, taco night!" Connie exclaimed.

"Wahoo!" I said, jumping up enthusiastically. "Let's go!"

My best friend and my new friend laughed at me. "Is she always this excitable?" Jack asked Connie as we walked out of the room.

"Oh, yeah," Connie replied. "Especially when it comes to tacos."

"Ha ha ha, yeah Darcy is a fatty," I said impatiently. "Seriously though, hurry your asses up!"

They just laughed harder, but we made our way to the Caf.

Most of the team was already there when we got there. They looked a little surprised, albeit relieved, to see Connie and I together and laughing. We got in line for our food, and I piled my plate high with those delicious little tacos. I sat down in my rightful place, right next to Adam, and Connie sat down right next to me. Jack sat down across from us, conveniently right next to my twin.

"So, everything all good in Darcy-and-Connie Land?" Charlie asked us with a full mouth, gesturing to the two of us with his taco.

"Yes, Charles, we're fantastic. Can you please use some manners for once?" I said, throwing a napkin at him disgustedly.

He ignored my comment and the napkin. "Good. I hate it when you two fight." He then turned to Jack and started telling her some story. I left them alone and turned to Adam.

"How's the homework going?" I asked.

"Finished. What happened with you and Connie?" he asked.

"Its a long story. I'll tell you later," I said, giving a little eye roll and a smile. "I'm just glad its over."

"Me too," Connie said from my other side, smiling with her mouth full of taco.

"Jesus, you're as bad as Charlie," I said, laughing.

"Love you," she said, mouth still full.

"Love you, too," I said, not able to control my laughter.

Adam was laughing too, and he gave me a kiss on the forehead.

Okay, so maybe my year wasn't going exactly perfect right now. But at that moment, feeling happier then I had since the school year started, I realized. Everything always has a way of working itself out. Looking at Adam, and Connie, and Jack, and Charlie, and all my Ducks, I knew that this year is gonna be great. I just knew it.

A/N: VOILA! There ya have it, readers. Chapter 8! Wahoo! Hope you liked it! Pleeeeease review and make my day! Any questions/comments/criticisms are very very welcome :) Loooove you all, I'll promise to update as soon as possible! xoxoJaneeDoee


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